PP speaks out after charter reform delay

Blasts government for 'lack of sincerity'

PUBLISHED : 9 May 2026 at 05:06

WRITER: Aekarach Sattaburuth

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The People's Party (PP) has accused the government of lacking sincerity over constitutional reform after the Cabinet omitted pending charter amendment bills from a list of legislation carried over from the previous parliament.

The opposition party warned that the move risks contradicting the outcome of February's national referendum.

Parit Wacharasindhu, a PP party-list MP, said the government must clarify whether it still intends to proceed with drafting a new constitution after 21.6 million voters supported the idea in the Feb 8 referendum, while 11.2 million voted against.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Mr Parit argued that allowing the existing amendment drafts to lapse without committing to a replacement bill would show the Cabinet was unwilling to honour the public mandate.

"The referendum result clearly reflected broad social consensus that the 2017 constitution has serious structural problems and that piecemeal amendments are no longer sufficient," he said.

Mr Parit said public concern over the current charter had intensified in recent months, citing controversies involving several independent agencies and state institutions.

He pointed to criticism of the Election Commission over delayed vote reporting and ballot irregularities, the handling of a building collapse investigation by the Office of the Auditor General, declining transparency rankings, and recent actions by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

He also criticised the government's claim that economic problems should take priority over constitutional reform, saying both issues could be addressed simultaneously.

"The claim that constitutional reform must wait because of economic difficulties is unconvincing," he wrote, while also attacking the government's proposed 400-billion-baht emergency borrowing decree, which he alleged bundled unrelated long-term projects with public relief measures.

Mr Parit said the Cabinet now had two clear options: reaffirm the two pending constitutional amendment drafts before May 14 so they could continue through parliament, or submit an entirely new amendment bill for fresh deliberation. However, he warned that the government appeared prepared to pursue neither course.

Former EC commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn also criticised the administration, questioning the value of the referendum if the amendment process is abandoned.

Writing on Facebook, Mr Somchai said the government appeared ready to let the amendment lapse despite the 8.9-billion-baht referendum cost, forcing the process to restart and potentially delaying a new constitution by another two years.

The controversy follows a May 5 cabinet resolution approving 31 pending bills from the previous parliament for continuation while excluding charter change proposals, including plans to establish a Constitution Drafting Assembly.

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- KEYWORDS

- Thailand constitution

- Parit wacharasindhu

- Charter reform

- Thai politics

- Constitutional amendment

- National referendum

- Pp party