Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said on Thursday that the case against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the upcoming election are not connected and the investigation into the charges against Thaksin should be continued after the election.
His comments came soon after Samak Sundaravej, the leader of the People Power Party, said in the morning that if the PPP wins the Dec. 23 election, it will prove the handling of case against Thaksin is wrong.
Thaksin, the former premier who was ousted from the Government House during a military coup last September, is now living in London. He is facing criminal charges on a land deal and the share transfer between his corporation and Singapore's Temasek Co. Public prosecutors are trying to find ways to have him and his wife returned from Britain for trial.
Thaksin's dissolved Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party, which rose to power in 2001 after defeating the Democrat Party -- Thailand's oldest political party, was billed as the champion of the poor forits populist policies ranging from a village fund to a universal health care scheme. However, the party was later dissolved after last year's coup since it was found guilty of breaking election laws.
The PPP rapidly expanded its potential strength after many former TRT Party members' attended the party in June and July. Theparty, led by former Bangkok governor Samak, who has said he is a proxy of Thaksin's TRT party, is favored to win most seats in the North and Northeast, strongholds of Thaksin.
However, Surayud was quoted by the Bangkok Post's Thursday Web news as saying that no matter which party wins the election, the cases concerning Thaksin should not be stopped.
It is up to the court to decide whether Thaksin commits wrongdoing, while the election is a process to acquire administrative and legislative branches, said the premier.
Source: Xinhua
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