By SUTIN WANNABOVORN / AP WRITER
BANGKOK — Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej disappeared from public view Wednesday as his coalition offered to vote him back into office and opponents warned of chaos if he returns.
The Constitutional Court forced Samak to resign Tuesday after finding him guilty of violating the constitution by receiving payment to host TV cooking shows while in office.
The ruling marked the first time in Thai history that a prime minister had to leave office by a court order. The English-language Bangkok Post poked fun at the circumstances with a political cartoon that showed Samak being poisoned by a plate of steaming food, as two pigs commented, "You are what you eat."
But, the mood in Thailand was tense Wednesday as the court's decision appeared unlikely to end a political crisis over Samak's leadership. Anti-government protesters seized the prime minister's office compound August 26 to demand Samak's ouster and said they would remain camped there until they were certain he would not return.
Samak's six-party coalition in Parliament said Wednesday it would try to get him re-elected as prime minister when Parliament meets Friday to select his replacement.
"So far, we have not yet heard from Prime Minister Samak. We have merely proposed the idea of voting him back into office, but we don't know if he will accept the position or not," said Wittaya Buransiri, a senior coalition member.
Samak made no public comment on the court ruling or his coalition's offer, though The Bangkok Post quoted anonymous coalition members as saying he had privately accepted it. Samak's whereabouts were not known, with some speculating that he had moved into a military safe house.
The opposition Democrat Party warned that returning Samak to power would inflame the country's political crisis.
"I am urging the coalition parties to rethink the idea of appointing Samak," said Suthep Thuagsuban, secretary-general of the Democrat Party. "You are fueling the fire in the country and it could lead to chaos."
The opposition was pushing to delay the parliamentary vote for a new prime minister until Monday so all parties could find "a good person that is acceptable to the public" to lead the country and resolve the political crisis, Suthep said.
Anti-government protesters call Samak a puppet of deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was forced from office by an army coup in 2006 and recently fled to Britain to avoid corruption charges.
The People's Alliance for Democracy, the protest organizers, said they would hold on to Government House while waiting to see who Parliament selects as prime minister. If Samak or anyone tied to Thaksin is picked, the occupation will continue, alliance spokesman Suriyasai Katasila told The Associated Press.
Newspaper editorials urged Samak to bow out.
"Reappointing Samak will only widen the rift in society and risk leading the country into chaos and a bloodbath," the Thai-language Matichon newspaper said in its editorial.
Street clashes in the capital Bangkok between Samak's supporters and opponents on Sept. 2 left one person dead and dozens wounded.
The English-language Nation newspaper urged all sides to "listen to each other in a sincere attempt to sort out the political mess. ... Everyone should take this opportunity to sort out their differences for the sake of the nation."
The anti-Samak movement argues that the ballot box gives too much weight to Thailand's poor rural majority. It contends that the poor are susceptible to vote buying and provide a solid political base for the forces represented by Thaksin and Samak.
For now, the 73-year-old Samak has been undone by hosting a popular TV cooking show, "Tasting and Complaining." He was host for seven years before becoming prime minister seven months ago, but he made several appearances after taking office, which the court said violated a constitutional prohibition on private employment while in office.
In his defense, Samak had argued he was not an employee of the company that made the show and only received payment for his transportation and the ingredients used for cooking.
The court said Samak's Cabinet could remain as a caretaker administration until Parliament fills the prime minister's post. That means the senior deputy prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, will serve as acting prime minister. Somchai is Thaksin's brother-in-law.
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