The Prime Minister revealed that in a special Cabinet meeting, the question for the referendum, “Do you agree that a new constitution should be drafted?” was approved and sent to the Election Commission. The aim is to hold it simultaneously with the 8 Feb 2026 GMT+7 election to avoid wasting a 4 billion baht budget unnecessarily.
At 10:30 a.m. on 18 Dec 2025 GMT+7, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul presided over a special Cabinet meeting at the Government House to consider the referendum question returned by the Election Commission, which asked the Cabinet to select only one question. Later, at 11:42 a.m., Anutin said, The Cabinet agreed to propose the referendum question from the Cabinet, which will be sent back to the Election Commission to ensure proper procedure and prevent future misinterpretation.
Regarding Deputy Prime Minister Bawornsak Uwanno's statement that if the parliamentary meeting chose the question from the Bhumjaithai Party, the matter would have been settled from the start, Anutin said, The questions are similar, but the key is to ensure they comply with the constitution. If not correct, it would require reinterpretation, and after the people vote, a new referendum might be needed. That would be inappropriate. We have sufficient time to proceed correctly with endorsement from all parties.
When asked if the referendum question about canceling the 2000 and 2001 MOUs would be used as a campaign policy by the Bhumjaithai Party, Anutin replied, "That is possible. The party has a clear stance on this issue." When further asked if the referendum would be held together with the 8 Feb 2026 GMT+7 election, Anutin said, "That depends on the Election Commission. From the Cabinet’s side, we want it on the same day for convenience and budget reasons. If the dates are only a week apart, from what I understand, that would cost 4 billion baht, which would be an unnecessary waste of budget."
A reporter reported that the Cabinet’s referendum question is: “Do you agree that a new constitution should be drafted?” Meanwhile, the parliament’s question submitted to the Cabinet is, “Do you agree or disagree with the drafting of a new constitution?”