Ousted Thai prime minister's party dissolved

Bangkok, May 30 (UNI) Former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai party was dissolved late tonight by the country's Constitution Court on charges of electoral fraud after the former main opposition democrat party was found innocent of similar allegations.

In its decision on the Thai Rak Thai announced close to midnight after a day long reading of its verdicts on the two parties, the nine-judge Constitutional bench also banned most senior leaders of the party from political activities for five years.

Mr Thaksin who won three successive general elections in 2001, 2005 and 2006 and gave first elected single party government for a full term in the country was ousted in a bloodless military coup in September last year following months of mass street protests .

UNI