Thai court rejects opposition’s demand to annul 2 Feb polls
14 Feb 2014 4:36 AM IST
The Constitutional Court declined to consider the petition, saying there was no credible evidence to nullify the election or to dissolve the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
The petition, filed by former Democrat Party MP Wirat Kalayasiri last week, asked the court to void the election on grounds that the poll did not take place on the same day nationwide as required by the constitution. In a statement, the court said there were insufficient grounds to consider the petition.
The Democrat Party, which had boycotted the polls, also sought the exclusion of the ruling party executives from politics for five years.
Yingluck had called the snap polls in a bid to assuage anti-government demonstrators who have been staging protests, often violent, for three months to topple her government and install an unelected ‘people’s Council’ to carry out economic and political reforms.
The protesters prevented 10,000 polling stations, mainly in opposition strongholds in Bangkok and the south, from opening on February 2 that affected some six million voters.
The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday set a date of 27 April for re-polling in constituencies where voting was disrupted.
It said balloting will not be held in areas where there is a risk of possible law violations as it would be a waste of time and money. There is still no decision about 28 other constituencies where registration of candidates were blocked.
The EC has said the results of the election will not be announced until polls have been held in all constituencies.
The petition, filed by former Democrat Party MP Wirat Kalayasiri last week, asked the court to void the election on grounds that the poll did not take place on the same day nationwide as required by the constitution. In a statement, the court said there were insufficient grounds to consider the petition.
The Democrat Party, which had boycotted the polls, also sought the exclusion of the ruling party executives from politics for five years.
Yingluck had called the snap polls in a bid to assuage anti-government demonstrators who have been staging protests, often violent, for three months to topple her government and install an unelected ‘people’s Council’ to carry out economic and political reforms.
The protesters prevented 10,000 polling stations, mainly in opposition strongholds in Bangkok and the south, from opening on February 2 that affected some six million voters.
The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday set a date of 27 April for re-polling in constituencies where voting was disrupted.
It said balloting will not be held in areas where there is a risk of possible law violations as it would be a waste of time and money. There is still no decision about 28 other constituencies where registration of candidates were blocked.
The EC has said the results of the election will not be announced until polls have been held in all constituencies.
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