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Thai party guilty of poll fraud Thai party guilty of poll fraud
(10 minutes later)
A Thai court has found the party of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of violating election laws, which could see it disbanded. A Thai court has found members of the party of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of violating election laws.
Thai Rak Thai was found guilty of bribing two smaller parties to influence the results of last year's election, which was later annulled. Two Thai Rak Thai officials were found guilty of bribing two smaller parties to influence the results of last year's election, which was later annulled.
Mr Thaksin could now be barred from political office for five years. The ruling could see the party dissolved and Mr Thaksin barred from political office for five years.
Mr Thaksin was ousted in a military coup last September, accused of corruption and abuse of power.Mr Thaksin was ousted in a military coup last September, accused of corruption and abuse of power.
Earlier, the same court found that Thailand's oldest party, the Democratic Party, was not guilty of six charges of election fraud.
The court ruled that it had not maligned the Thai Rak Thai party during last year's election campaign, and thus would not be forced to disband.
Correspondents in the capital, Bangkok, say the situation on the ground seems relatively calm.
But thousands of soldiers are on alert in case of unrest following the verdicts.