By Nopporn Wong-Anan
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Constitutional Court orderedPrime Minister Samak Sundaravej to stand down on Tuesday,accusing him of breaking the law by hosting TV cooking showswhile in office.
The verdict prompted mixed reactions from protestersoccupying Government House to try to force Samak from office,with some cheering his demise, and others fearing thebelligerent 73-year-old would simply be voted back to power byhis party.
Wittaya Buranasiri, chief government whip from Samak'sPeople Power Party, a successor to the disbanded party ofousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, echoed the defiancehis boss has shown throughout the three month campaign againsthim.
"I insist that our party leader will be the primeminister," he told reporters within minutes of the verdict.
There was no immediate reaction from Samak.
The stock market, which has fallen 24 percent since thePeople's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) launched its push at theend of May, closed down 0.3 percent, having failed to react tothe verdict.
The PAD's main gripe is that Samak is a puppet of Thaksin,who was removed as prime minister by the army in a 2006 coup.
The group, a mix of royalist businessmen, academics andactivists united by their hatred of Thaksin, had hoped theconflict of interest charges against Samak for hosting thecommercial TV cooking programmes after becoming prime minister.
Samak testified in his own defence on Monday, denying anywrongdoing as the star of "Tasting, Grumbling" and "Touring at6 a.m.".
He suggested the case was politically motivated and saidthe 80,000 baht (1,303 pounds) his driver received was to coverthe cost of fuel and ingredients for the show. He gave up therole in April, more than two months after becoming primeminister.
MARKET VISIT
With the thick skin that has typified his behaviourthroughout, Samak toured a meat and vegetable market in thenortheastern province of Udon Thani on Tuesday, before chairinga "mobile" weekly cabinet meeting.
He declined to answer questions from reporters afterwards.
At a pro-government rally on Monday evening in the town, astronghold for his seven-month-old government, he vowed not toresign or call a snap election.
"I declare that I will not dissolve parliament. I will notquit. I will fight on," he told thousands of cheeringsupporters.
The standoff between the government and PAD has paralysedadministration decision-making at a time of slowing economicgrowth and high inflation.
It has also scared away visitors to the "Land of Smiles",with airlines and hotels reporting cancellations as morecountries issue travel warnings in the wake of Samak'sdeclaration last week of a state of emergency.
The tension spilt over into bloodshed last week when a manwas killed in a street battle between pro- and anti-governmentgroups, trigging a declaration of a state of emergency fromSamak that the highly politicised army chose to ignore.
Two years after its removal of Thaksin in a coup, the armyhas insisted it will not intervene again, but senior officersacknowledge the political crisis has reached a stalemate.
If the deadlock continues or more people are hurt orkilled, the crisis could also trigger a move by revered KingBhumibol Adulyadej, who has stepped into several disputesduring his six decades on the throne.
In 2006, when Thaksin faced a prolonged campaign by thePAD, the king summoned the country's top judges to tell them toresolve the political "mess" after the opposition boycotted ageneral election, rendering the result void.
(Additional reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Writing by EdCropley; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Jerry Norton)
