Thai court agrees to hear cases to void April poll

BANGKOK, May 1 (Reuters) A Thai court agreed today to hear a petition to annul inconclusive April 2 general elections which left parliament unable to meet to choose a new prime minister and set off a major constitutional crisis.

But nearly a week after influential King Bhumibol Adulyadej summoned top judges to tell them it was their job to sort out the mess, there was no firm word on when a decision might be reached.

''The Constitutional Court agreed unanimously to hear the request,'' secretary-general Paiboon Varahapaitoon told reporters after a meeting of the 14-judge panel.

''I can guarantee that it won't be long,'' Paiboon said when asked when the court would rule on a case alleging the polls were tainted by fraud and that the Election Commission and candidates had committed irregularities.

Paiboon said the Election Commission would be given three days to submit its defence to the suit filed by law lecturers and a civic group.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called the elections to demonstrate his popularity in the countryside to Bangkok's middle classes who had taken to the streets in their thousands to accuse him of corruption and abuse of power.

However, Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party won fewer votes than in the previous election in February last year. Moreover, the main opposition boycotted the ballot.

That meant many constituencies failed to provide the vote necessary for a parliamentary mandate. With seats unfilled, parliament could not be convened within the 30-day deadline of an election set by the constitution.

THAKSIN'S PLEDGE The Administrative Court, which rules on the legality of government actions, dashed any hopes of meeting the deadline when it halted weekend election reruns in 14 constituencies.

The court said cases it would hear soon might lead it to declare the April 2 election unlawful. Therefore the reruns -- a third attempt to fill the seats -- would be pointless.

Thailand's chief judges met on Friday after unusually strong words from the constitutional monarch broadcast on national television.

The substantial number of abstentions, effectively a vote against Thaksin, who denied the charges against him, prompted him to say he would not be a candidate for prime minister when parliament did meet.

But Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya said yesterday that if the courts nullified the April 2 result, as analysts say looks increasingly likely, Thaksin would not have to stick to his pledge.

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