Thai court ruling may end political crisis

The Constitutional Court could invalidate last month's snap polls and pave the way for new ones to resolve the political turmoil that sent tens of thousands into the streets and left Thailand without a working parliament.

The court has been forced to rule quickly on the April 2 polls after revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej demanded judges breakthrough the deadlock that threatened to drag on for months.

"After the king's comments, it is very likely that the court will nullify the April 2 polls," said Sombat Thamrongthanyawong from the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) university.

"That verdict would steer the country out of the political crisis."

Public anger erupted against Thaksin in early January over his family's sale of its stock in Shin Corp, the telecoms giant he founded before entering office.

Protesters staged weeks of rallies in Bangkok demanding Thaksin resign over the 1.9 billion dollar tax-free deal accusing him of cronyism and abuse of power. The biggest demonstration drew 100,000 people to a park outside the Grand Palace.

Thaksin dissolved the lower house of parliament and called a snap election to halt the protests and give himself a fresh mandate.

His Thai Rak Thai party won 56 per cent of the vote thanks mainly to support in poor rural areas. But the gamble backfired as the main opposition parties boycotted the polls and millions of Thais cast protest votes against him.

Two days after the elections, Thaksin tearfully announced, after a 30-minute meeting with the king, that he was stepping aside.

Instead of ending the turmoil, the elections sent Thailand plunging towards a constitutional crisis. The boycott left 40 seats empty, and a second round of voting failed to fill them all, leaving parliament unable to convene to form a new government.