Pradorn Prissanananthakul has proposed submitting an urgent motion for Parliament to discuss the first referendum question to forward it to the Cabinet after completing the second reading of the constitutional amendment. Meanwhile, Julapan argued this is unnecessary, pointing out the Cabinet can proceed immediately.
On 10 Dec 2025 GMT+7 at 09:20, at Parliament, Mr. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, Speaker of Parliament, chaired the first joint extraordinary session of Parliament. The key agenda was the consideration of the draft amendment to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (No. ..) B.E., which the committee has completed reviewing.
Before considering the draft constitutional amendment, Mr. Pakornwut Udomphipatsakul, party-list MP of the People’s Party and opposition whip chairman, stated that although there was no joint whip meeting, informal coordination among all sides occurred to open the extraordinary session on 10-11 Dec. If the consideration is not completed in two days, a regular session will be opened on 12 Dec, which the Speaker can summon. For efficiency, all parties agreed that if the second reading finishes early, the third reading vote can also occur sooner. He informed members the voting will be by individual articles; even if the session lasts until midnight, much can be reviewed, likely concluding by tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pradorn Prissanananthakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office and MP for Ang Thong from Bhumjaithai Party, stated that today his party will submit an urgent motion for Parliament to pass a resolution to forward the first referendum question to the Cabinet, avoiding delays waiting for the third reading vote. This means that once the second reading concludes, Parliament will jointly consider an urgent motion to formulate the first referendum question and send it to the government for preparation. After the third reading vote, possibly by end of next month or early January, the Speaker may have Parliament consider the second referendum question to send to the government for preparation, in line with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, which he sees as separable.
Mr. Julapan Amornwiwat, Chiang Mai MP and leader of Pheu Thai Party, stated that Pradorn’s proposal aligns with Pheu Thai’s prior demand to provide guarantees to Thai society by having the government immediately submit the first referendum question to the Election Commission to confirm that regardless of any obstacles or progress in the constitutional amendment process in Parliament, there must ultimately be a referendum question on whether to adopt a new constitution on election day.
Mr. Julapan said that while Pheu Thai has no objection to Pradorn’s urgent motion proposal after the second reading, they question whether it is necessary, since the Cabinet already has the power to consider and submit the first referendum question to the Election Commission. The Referendum Act grants this authority to the Cabinet, so the burden should not be shifted to Parliament.
Mr. Pradorn clarified that the government had consulted the Office of the Council of State, which responded that doing so might conflict with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, even though the Referendum Act grants the Cabinet that authority. Therefore, since the constitutional amendment process begins in Parliament, Parliament should propose the question to the Cabinet, which then proceeds to submit it to the Election Commission to ensure compliance with the Constitutional Court’s decision.
Mr. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, Speaker of Parliament, stated he would take the matter under consideration and requested the whips to discuss it. Then, the session proceeded to consider the second reading of the draft constitutional amendment.