BANGKOK: Thailand’s ruling party escaped punishment in a Constitutional Court ruling yesterday that had threatened to inflame the country’s divisions as political rivals rallied in Bangkok.
The judgement, which frustrated a government bid to establish a fully elected upper house, had been keenly anticipated, with thousands of pro- and anti-government protesters massing in the capital.
Bangkok has been the scene of periodic outbreaks of street violence in recent years and the ruling had fuelled fears of renewed political unrest.
Judges slammed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s Puea Thai party for driving through a proposed change to the constitution which was drawn up under the military junta that deposed her divisive brother Thaksin.
They called the proposed amendment “unconstitutional.”
But the nine-strong bench stopped short of moving to punish the party, and dismissed a petition to dissolve Puea Thai and its coalition partners.
Any move against the ruling party would probably have enraged the government’s supporters, including the pro-Thaksin “Red Shirts” who have massed in their thousands since Tuesday in a stadium in the city suburbs.
The court’s decision was initially given a partial welcome by both sides of Thailand’s political divide, in a sign that it may have eased immediate tensions.
A lawyer for the opposition Democrat Party meanwhile said the ruling should trigger the resignation of the under-fire premier.
“The amendment, which was not based on rule of law, but to benefit of specific people, cannot go through,” said Virat Karlayasiri. The Red Shirts expressed relief that the ruling party had not been disbanded, but slammed the court’s ruling against the amendment.
“If we cannot amend one article, how about the whole constitution?” said Red Shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan.
AFP
