Prime Minister Anutin stated that amending the constitution according to the 21 million referendum votes does not bind the previous draft. The process must restart in parliament. He confirmed that the Bhumjaithai Party does not oppose the amendment but insists that sovereignty and the sections concerning the monarchy must remain untouched.
13 May 2026 GMT+7 Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, also serving as leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, gave an interview regarding the upcoming 14 May 2026 deadline when the Cabinet must decide whether to reaffirm the pending constitutional amendment draft left over from the previous House of Representatives, so the new House can proceed. The constitutional amendment draft under consideration by the previous parliament—whether the government will reaffirm it, and Bhumjaithai Party’s stance on constitutional amendments—is as follows: The Bhumjaithai Party’s position is to listen to the people's demands.
A reporter asked, “With over 21 million votes in the referendum in favor of amending the constitution, will the Cabinet reaffirm the pending constitutional amendment draft for reconsideration?” Anutin replied, “The entire process must start in parliament. It should not be tied to the government because this matter was handled by the previous administration. Since the referendum on constitutional amendment was held alongside the general election, the amendment process must begin with the current parliament. It is not appropriate to tie it to the amendment draft submitted in the previous parliament.”
Regarding the Constitutional Court ruling that the amendment process must start in parliament, Anutin said there has already been a ruling that parliament must handle it. When asked how the process will restart, Anutin said it is up to parliament to propose. He, as head of government,
was further asked if the amendment process must start from scratch, to which Anutin again responded that it depends on parliament. When pressed about how, as leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, he plans to drive the constitutional amendment, Anutin revealed that they have already stated they will not touch certain articles, such as those concerning Thailand’s sovereignty and the sections related to the monarchy; the rest can be discussed. However, when asked if reaffirming the pending amendment draft from the previous parliament would speed up the amendment process, Anutin replied, “I do not know.”