Supporters of Thai Rak Thai are currently converged outside party headquarters at Navasorn Building on Rama III Road. I was there from around 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. The overall mood was calm and there was significant police presence for the small group of no more than 300 people. The group was gathered around television screens and there were projectors set up for people to watch the verdict. People did not appear irate, but they looked unhappy. There were throngs of photographers and representatives from all the major television networks. I spoke to a journalist from AFP and gave her some quotes; I hope they don’t end up in her report.

The case of the Democrat Party is being read out presently (3 p.m.), although the actual verdict is not expected until 4 p.m. with Thai Rak Thai’s fate to follow. Thai Rak Thai will hold a press conference after its fate has been announced.

Speeches made outside TRT headquarters were very anti-junta and pro-1997 constitution. Speakers also made the point that dissolving of a political party in the manner proposed is illegitimate because it belongs to the 1997 constitution (Nation). Those don’t sound like the words of a confident party.

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AIS, DTAC, and True sent SMS messages to all users saying: "All Thais should embrace HM the King's words of advice. Be conscious. Cherish unity. Be sensible and Respect laws…from CNS"

Respect laws? This looks like an attempt at damage limitation. It's amazing that the CNS would send out a text message in this way. They are evidently very, very worried. Surayud has already been quoted as saying that he is ready to impose a state of emergency.

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The Democrat Party is "not guilty of maligning Thaksin's party Thak Rak Thai and persuading people to vote no," a judge read out to the crowded courtroom. "It did not mislead voters about Thaksin's popularity as the election commission alleged." (AP)

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It's 5.30 p.m. and this whole thing is being dragged out into the evening. The courts have successfully made this one of the most boring events in Thai political history. I suspect any protesters will get so frustrated with waiting around listening to this monotone verdict that they may just go home. Was this a ploy by the CNS? Possibly.

I will be going to Sanam Luang soon and will snap some more pictures and see what's happening around that area. I have a feeling I could take a quick nap and grab a bite to eat before I get there and the verdict for TRT would still not be in.

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I still believe that TRT is going to be punished today. The lengths the CNS has gone to in order to make this mess as tidy as possible are extreme. They are expecting something to happen, and it looks as if TRT is also expecting something to happen. Honestly, I think they have to penalise TRT or else what was the coup for? But, this really is completely up in the air.

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Even Surayud got bored and went home! He left government house before 5 p.m. That's awesome. TRT supporters are so bored that they've taken to ranting against the junta again. The CNS really knows how to kill a buzz.

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I’ve been getting the impression that there are hardly any people on the streets today. I don’t honestly believe there are 13,000 soldiers out there. The few soldiers I saw around the TRT building were sitting around watching TV. There was no military presence around Siam, Central, Victory Monument, or anywhere in the center of Bangkok. This sounds like scaremongering. I’ve not been to Sanam Luang yet but it seems there are only 300 people there. If the CNS was genuinely concerned about unrest then there should be military presence in all major areas, as was the case after the Bangkok bombings. The CNS themselves said that there may be bombings today; hence they said they would block mobile phone signals around the time (six hours and counting) of the verdict (although they did send out an SMS asking everyone to respect the law).

So where are these 13,000 soldiers? Have you seen them?

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At 9 p.m. tonight there were around 300 people at Sanam Luang listening to speeches about democracy, censorship, Thaksin, etc. The speeches were delivered powerfully and onlookers cheered and clapped throughout. So much for the enormous groups of people who were supposed to be wreaking havoc on the city today.

The taxi driver who took me back home from Sanam Luang seemed a little down so I asked him if he liked Thai Rak Thai. Of course, he said. "Chob Thaksin." I asked him why and he told me that Thaksin helped poor people and that he helped people outside of Bangkok. The taxi driver also said that without Thaksin there would be no Suvarnabhumi Airport. All of this is true, but it is demonstrative of a subjective point of view.

The driver went on to say that Surayud has not done anything. It is easy to see why Thaksin was so powerful. After all, why should Thailand's poor care about where money comes from or what purposes that money has if they can benefit from it? Thaksin gave people what they needed; there's no reason why they'd ask questions.

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Kuthep Saikrajang of Thai Rak Thai noticed how bored people were getting and told them all to go home and watch the verdict on TV. You've got to wonder how long this will go on for.

Is Thai Rak Thai heading for a fall? This just in from The Nation:

The Constitution Tribunal finds former TRT deputy leader Thamarak Isarangura and ex-deputy secretary general Pongsak Ruktapongpisal guilty of involving in paying and hiring politicians of Pattana Chart Thai party to run in the April national election.

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After today's nine-hour marathon they disbanded Thai Rak Thai. I'm so sick of this whole thing that I don't care any more. 189 pages of verdicts has taught me that Thai judges certainly don't know how to have fun. Apparently all the tribunal members "looked exhausted." I know the feeling. There were never going to be any riots; there was never the danger of unrest. This has all been one huge CNS-led fiasco with the intention of boosting the junta's powerful image.

I don't think that anybody in Bangkok actually cares about this. If people wanted to protest in the city center they could have. The media has been severely misleading people.

Techno' tags: Bangkok, Thai politics, Thai Rak Thai, Thaksin