BANGKOK - THAILAND'S Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case accusing the People Power Party, which won recent elections, of being a proxy of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a court official said on Friday.

The decision could jeopardise the future of the PPP - made up of former members of Mr Thaksin's dissolved Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party - even though it won 233 of the 480 seats in December 23 polls, the first since the coup in 2006.

An official at the Supreme Court said that they would hear the case against the PPP on January 15.

'The judge on Thursday ordered the court to hear three election fraud cases,' said the court official, who did not want to be named.

The most serious complaint was filed by Democrat Party candidate Chaiwat Sinsuwong, who asked to court to rule on whether the PPP was a nominee of TRT, which would be unlawful as a tribunal disbanded TRT in May last year.

He also questioned whether the PPP broke election law by distributing CDs featuring Mr Thaksin, who has been living in exile since the coup. PPP could be dissolved if the court rules in Mr Chaiwat's favour.

The two cases against the EC relate to the legality of advance voting, which was held on December 15-16.

The PPP has been busy trying to patch together a coalition government that would give it a healthy majority in the lower house.

But political horse-trading was halted on Wednesday after the death of Princess Galyani, sister of the revered king.

The PPP has so far been able to attract three small parties to its coalition, giving it a slim lead of 254 seats. Two other parties are still considering whether to join forces with the party.

But the obstacles facing the PPP appear to be mounting. The Election Commission announced Thursday that it was investigating 65 PPP poll winners for alleged irregularities, potentially hitting its seat tally.

Surapong Suebwonglee, PPP secretary general, told reporters that they were not overly concerned, as candidates still had a chance to prove their innocence.

'There is no problem concerning our forming a government,' he insisted.

Three PPP politicians have already been disqualified for vote buying, and the victories of more candidates could yet be overturned, shuffling the balance of power among the parties.

The Democrat Party came second in the polls with 165 seats. Six of their candidates are under investigation by the EC.

PPP's victory dealt a blow to the generals, who tried to purge Thailand of Thaksin's influence after ousting him in a bloodless coup in September 2006. -- AFP