BANGKOK - THAILAND'S Election Commission charged the Speaker of Parliament with vote fraud on Tuesday, setting the stage for a Supreme Court battle that could see him sacked.

Yongyut Tiyapairat, a close ally of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has repeatedly denied charges that he bribed local officials in northern Thailand to campaign for his People Power Party (PPP) in December elections.

But the Election Commission, which was appointed by the junta that ousted Thaksin in 2006, ruled the charges should go to the Supreme Court, slapping him with a legal complaint known as a 'red card' in this football-mad country.

'The EC will file the case with the Supreme Court within 15 days. If the court agrees to hear his case, Yongyut must stop performing his duties in Parliament,' although he would be allowed to keep his seat pending a verdict, Mr Ruengroj said.

If convicted, Yongyut could be stripped of his seat in Parliament. A conviction could also open the door to a broader investigation by the Election Commission into the operations of the PPP itself.

That would be a risky development for the party, which supporters of Thaksin built up in less than a year to contest the December elections.

Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party was disbanded by a military-appointed tribunal in the wake of the coup. The PPP could face a similar fate if the EC decided to keep pursuing the case.

The PPP, led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, won the December elections by openly campaigning as Thaksin's political heirs.

Thaksin has lived in exile since the coup, but his aides say he is planning to return soon. He himself faces corruption charges filed by army-installed investigators, which could land him in prison