BBC Online :Thailand’s prime minister has appeared before the Constitutional Court in Bangkok to defend herself against allegations of abuse of power.The complaint was filed by senators who said Yingluck Shinawatra’s party benefited from improperly transferring her national security chief in 2011.Ms Yingluck could be removed from office and banned from politics for five years if found guilty.The decision is expected on Wednesday, the court said after the hearing.The prime minister’s supporters believe the top courts are biased against her and the case is an attempt by the elite to force her from office.The BBC’s Jonathan Head in Bangkok says if the Constitutional Court also bans enough of her cabinet to disable her caretaker administration, her ministers have warned there will be chaos, with large-scale protests by pro-government red-shirts a certainty.Ever since King Bhumibol Adulyadej asked Thailand’s top judges to resolve the deadlock surrounding then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, back in April 2006, the courts have played a central role in shaping the country’s political landscape – and, Thaksin’s supporters argue, always ruling to their disadvantage.In 2007 the Constitutional Court banned 111 politicians from Thaksin’s party from politics for five years, after he was deposed in a military coup. Twice in 2008, the court issued rulings that deposed pro-Thaksin governments. This year it invalidated an election that Thaksin’s sister would have won, after it was sabotaged by anti-government groups – yet ruled that the protesters, some of whom were armed, were peaceful.So whatever the merits of the case against Ms Yingluck over the transfer of her national security advisor, if the court bans her from office, that will be seen by her supporters as yet another political decision by partisan judges.Thailand has seen deadlock since anti-government protests began in 2013. The protesters, who are mainly urban and middle class, want Ms Yingluck’s government replaced by an unelected “people’s council”.In response, Ms Yingluck called a snap election in February which she was expected to win, but this was disrupted by the protesters and subsequently annulled.
