8th May 2014 11:03
Bangkok (Alliance News) - The Thai National Anti Corruption Commission indicted ex prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra Thursday, requiring the Senate to start impeachment preceedings immediately.
The former prime minister could now face a five-year ban from politics depending on the senatorial proceedings on her role in the rice subsidy scheme.
The commission will also investigate whether Yingluck is to face criminal charges before the courts.
"Even though at this time there is not enough evidence to say the defendant is guilty of corruption, we find the defendant was negligent and did not carry out her duties," the commission said in a televised conference.
The rice subsidy programme and its failings have been a key complaint of anti-government protesters and the opposition, who accuse Yingluck's administration of corruption and mismanaging the scheme.
The programme was a key promise during the ruling Pheu Thai party's electoral campaign. The government bought rice from producers at a fixed rate, sometimes 50% higher than world market prices.
Fluctuations in market prices and mismanagement of the stockpiles have led to the programme losing more than 4 billion dollars.
Some farmers have also complained that the government is not paying the promised price, which the government has blamed on its inability to seek loans owing to its caretaker status.
The ruling comes a day after the Constitutional Court removed Yingluck from office on Wednesday over the appointment of a top security official in 2011.
Her removal has been seen by government supporters as a clear sign of the politicization of the judiciary. They point out that the courts have removed three Thaksin Shinawatra-backed prime ministers since a 2006 military coup. The Constitutional Court itself was created by the coup government which had toppled the Thaksin administration.
Thursday's indictment and Wednesday's ruling have weakened Thaksin's position, but analysts said it would not be seen as enough by those who oppose him.
The cabinet has already appointed another Thaksin ally, Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan, as premier and reshuffled other Pheu Thai party members to various positions vacated by the ruling.
Protests aimed at removing the influence of Thaksin, Yingluck's older brother, from politics have rocked Thailand since November.
Thaksin was prime minister between 2001 and 2006. He lives abroad to avoid a 2-year jail sentence for a 2008 abuse-of-power conviction.
In the face of the two different sets of protesters rallying over the weekend, thousands of army and police personnel have been called into the capital to maintain order, Police General Worapong Chiewpreecha told reporters.
It is still uncertain whether new elections, which are scheduled for July, will go ahead as the February election was nullified by the Constitutional Court. This was on the grounds that the election could not proceed in every province because of blocking of polling stations by anti-government protesters.
If elections do go ahead, commentators said it would only continue the existing tensions as a Thaksin proxy will likely win due to the ex-premier's widespread appeal and support in rural areas.
Copyright dpa