The rise of the Orange Bloc is checked as Piyabutr exposes a plan to dissolve the People's Party, urging society to reform the rules, unlock the first key to amend specific articles, and warns that the new constitution could become the 'Blue Edition'.
5 Apr 2026 GMT+7 Piyabutr Sangkunakul, Secretary-General of the Progressive Movement, commented on the QR code and barcode case concerning the 2026 election ballots currently before the Constitutional Court, summarizing that if the People's Party wins first place in the election, there is a chance the election could be declared void.
Regarding the Election Commission's acceptance of a petition with opinions submitted to the Constitutional Court for dissolving the People's Party, based on allegations that party executives and non-members were involved with Specter C Co., Ltd., a media company, engaging in actions that could benefit and generate profits shared among them, possibly violating political party laws. The People's Party opened membership online using a system where applicants enter codes found on the back of ID cards, and there are suspicions of using IO (Information Operations) tactics driven by Specter C, potentially dominating party activities and breaching political party regulations.
Piyabutr posted that the fourth party dissolution case, which began with the Future Forward Party, moved on to Move Forward Party, and now the People's Party, is less about party dissolution itself. This fourth dissolution case will become potent when the Bhumjaithai government falters due to internal conflicts or disputes among coalition parties or legitimacy crises, making continuation impossible.
"At that time, the People's Party's 119 seats will become a decisive factor in forming a new government. The dissolution case is designed as a weapon to stab the People's Party in the back, to control, stab, and weaken it in advance, causing splits, loss of votes, or making government formation difficult, potentially forcing traditional parties to reunite or rendering the People's Party powerless when crucial decisions must be made," he explained.
When asked about pushing for a new constitution draft after a referendum passes, Piyabutr said amending the constitution is difficult, even after a landslide referendum victory. There are two main challenges: first, traps set by the Constitutional Court's mechanisms, including banning elected members of the Constitutional Drafting Assembly and assigning drafting to parliament, which led to the failed "20 pick 1" formula last time. These mechanisms leave many citizens unhappy with this constitutional drafting model.
Second, in reality, the Blue faction, holding nearly 200 seats plus the Senate, would dominate. The "20 pick 1" formula would give them the most seats on the constitutional drafting committee, causing fears of their control. This paradox leaves reformers wanting to amend desperately but fearing that following the court's locked-in rules would result in the Blue faction seizing almost all drafting power, making reform impossible or unreachable.
"People's desire to amend is very high, which explains the referendum results. Yet reformers fear that if the amendment process follows the Constitutional Court's constraints, it will end with the Blue faction controlling nearly all drafting committees. Meanwhile, the government remains relaxed, saying, 'I don't want to amend, but if you want to, you must follow the existing path.' So the process is locked. But for now, there's some workaround by amending the constitution to remove the Senate's power in constitutional amendments," he added.
Piyabutr further revealed that regarding the People's Party's preparations to address this issue, it is still unclear how the party and civil society will campaign. Currently, there are two draft constitutional amendments from Bhumjaithai and People's Party pending. Whether to revive these drafts, start anew, or follow Thammasat University law professor Prinya Thewanarumitkul's suggestion to amend article by article remains undecided. The challenge is securing one-third Senate votes, which is difficult. However, assessing the balance of power, the approach is to do what is feasible and gradually unlock the keys one at a time.