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| Thai party guilty of poll fraud | Thai party guilty of poll fraud |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A Thai court has found members of the party of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of violating election laws. | A Thai court has found members of the party of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of violating election laws. |
| 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. | 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. |
| The ruling could see the party dissolved and Mr Thaksin 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. |
| This is bad news for the country's main political party and it is still not clear what the full implications of this are, says BBC Asia correspondent Andrew Harding. | |
| Individual officials - perhaps 100 or more - could be barred from office for more than five years. In the worst-case scenario, the party itself could be dissolved, he says. | |
| Earlier, the same court found that Thailand's oldest party, the Democratic Party, was not guilty of six charges of election fraud. | 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. | 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. |
| Rise and fall | |
| Correspondents in the capital, Bangkok, say the situation on the ground seems relatively calm. | 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. | But thousands of soldiers are on alert in case of unrest following the verdicts. |
| A former Thai Rak Thai deputy had threatened to mobilise thousands of protesters if the court ruled against it. | |
| Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who was installed after Mr Thaksin was overthrown last September, said he would issue an emergency decree if necessary. | |
| Thaksin Shinawatra, the wealthy head of a telecommunications empire, founded the Thai Rak Thai (Thai Loves Thai party) in 1998, and its rapid emergence transformed Thai politics. | |
| He swept into power in 2001, and became the first prime minister in Thailand's history to lead an elected government through a full four-year term in office. | |
| Eighteen months later he was out of office after a military coup, accused of corruption and abuse of power. He now lives in exile in London. |