Thailand ? The prime minister’s political party violated election law, officials said Thursday in a finding that could lead to its dissolution and end the embattled leader’s political career.

The Election Commission concluded that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai party broke the law by hiring small parties to run in April 2 elections to avoid restrictions placed on candidates in single-party races.

Thai Rak Thai has dominated the country’s political landscape since 2001. Its demise would bar all party members, including Thaksin, from running in new elections scheduled for October.