Bangkok -
Thailand is expected to learn the fate of its ruling Democrats next week in a court verdict that could lead to the party's dissolution, the deputy prime minister said on Friday.
The Constitutional Court is due to rule on Monday, Suthep Thuagsuban said, after a trial centred on accusations of misuse of a $960 000 dollar state grant in 2005.
Suthep, who is also secretary general of the Democrats, said the party will accept the decision, which could lead to five-year bans for party executives, including Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
“I expect after the closing remarks the judges would hand down the verdict on (November) 29,” he told reporters. “Certainly it's acceptable to me whatever the verdict is.”
Thailand's Election Commission (EC) in April called for the Democrat Party - the country's oldest party - to be abolished over the accusations, as well as a separate case alleging an undeclared political donation.
The call coincided with the country's worst political violence in decades, which ultimately left more than 90 people dead and almost 1 900 wounded in a series of street clashes between opposition protesters and troops.
The Democrats are accused of paying 23 million baht to advertising firms, despite having permission to spend only 19 million on billboard marketing.
Abhisit, who was the party's deputy leader at the time, appeared as a witness for the defence during the trial, telling the court the election body had been informed about changes in campaign plans.
He has also had to defend the Democrats against accusations that a member of his party had attempted to influence the judiciary in the case.
Some observers question whether Abhisit's backers in the military and Bangkok-based elite would allow the Democrats to be toppled.
But judicial rulings have played a pivotal role in shaping Thailand's political landscape in the past.
The Democrats came to power two years ago after court decisions ousted allies of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was himself unseated in a 2006 military coup.
The judiciary forced two premiers from office in 2008 - one of them, Samak Sundaravej, was removed for taking payments for hosting TV cooking shows. - Sapa-AFP