"Prit" hopes all parliament members will approve the principles of every constitutional amendment draft at the first reading, even if there are differing details to be discussed later in committee. He revealed that the Pheu Thai Party's draft aligns with all three principles of the People’s Party, which is why the People’s Party allocated MPs to co-sign it.
1 June 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Prit Watcharasindhu, a party-list member of Parliament and deputy leader of the People’s Party, gave an interview regarding Speaker Sopon Sarum's plan to include the constitutional amendment draft on the joint parliamentary agenda around 7-8 July. Asked about his view on each party's Constituent Assembly model, he said, to his understanding, it concerns only the amendment of Article 256 and the addition of Chapter 15/1 to pave the way for drafting a new constitution.
Currently, it is expected that about 5-6 drafts have been or will be submitted to Parliament. It remains to be seen whether additional drafts from other MPs or from public petitions will be added. Regarding content details, the People’s Party adheres to three announced principles: 1. Promote public participation in drafting the new constitution; 2. Set rules to prevent monopolization of the process by any single side; and 3. Do not increase special powers or conditions for senators or any parliamentary group in deciding the new constitution's content.
Mr. Prit added, that after reviewing other parties' drafts, he found the Pheu Thai Party's draft consistent with their three principles. Therefore, the People’s Party assigned MPs to co-sign it so Pheu Thai could submit it to Parliament. The Democrat Party's draft is still under detailed review, while the Bhumjaithai Party's draft does not align with their principles as it lacks provisions for public participation in electing the Constituent Assembly and grants special powers to senators.
However, looking at the bigger picture, the 7-8 July 2026 consideration will be the principle approval stage. He sees all drafts share the same broad principle: adding Chapter 15/1 to establish the Constituent Assembly or process for drafting a new constitution. Therefore, at the principle approval stage, he hopes all parliament members will vote to approve the principles of all drafts, even if details such as the origin of the Constituent Assembly differ. These can be debated later in committee. Following the public’s expressed wish on 8 February 2026 for a new constitution, all parliament members should respond responsibly by approving the principles of every draft.
When asked if he had any concerns, Mr. Prit said none so far, because while details differ, he expects everyone to approve all drafts at the principle stage. The details can then be discussed in committee. At that stage, key issues such as allowing public participation in electing the Constituent Assembly and ensuring no special powers are granted to senators are matters they will strongly push for in committee.