Some good news for a change. Pete
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BANGKOK, Thailand - Three former election commissioners were convicted Friday of dereliction of duty and sentenced to two years in prison for their role in Thailand's election fiasco.
It was their second conviction over their handling of April 2 general elections, which were later nullified. In July, a court sentenced them each to four years in prison in a related case that they are appealing.
On Friday, the court ruled in favor of the opposition Democrat Party, which said the commissioners knew the ruling Thai Rak Thai party was paying small parties to back mock candidates in the election but failed to do anything about it.
The lawsuit was one of several filed against the commissioners by the Democrat Party.
The former commissioners, who were recently replaced, were widely regarded as favoring Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's party. Thaksin won the April 2 elections, but the opposition boycotted the vote and the outcome was later invalidated.