TRT dissolved

The Thai Constitutional Tribunal, a body established by the coup-makers, has ruled that Thaksin's TRT must be dissolved. TRT executives were found to have paid smaller parties to contest last year's general election, and to falsify the party registration forms of some party candidates. (If a party campaigns unopposed, a higher threshold of votes is required to win, and candidates must have been party-members for at least ninety days before they can stand for parliament. Thus, TRT colluded to ensure that minor parties had enough candidates to stand against them, paradoxically making it easier for TRT to win.)

111 TRT executives, including Thaksin, have been banned from active politics for the next five years, and no candidates can contest any future election under the TRT banner. Suspiciously, the Democrats have been acquitted of all charges. Now we are yet further away from democracy, with the country's largest political party, TRT, no longer extant.