"Teng Natthapong" criticized the Blue Regime for trying to monopolize state power and urged "Anutin" to investigate his own political faction over local examination corruption. He called on the public to join in signing to push for a directly elected Constitution Drafting Assembly to draft a new constitution and warned against certain groups distorting the Constitutional Court judges' statements.
On 24 June 2026 at the Parliament building, Natthapong Ruangpanyawut, leader of the People's Party and opposition leader in the House of Representatives, told the media about the current political situation that recent news events raise suspicions that under this government, the 'Blue Regime' is increasingly consolidating state and economic power within its own network.
The People's Party leader cited examples such as the appointment and transfer of deputy governors and senior officials in Phuket province, with local citizens questioning the reasons behind these moves—whether they were central government efforts to replace officials with their own network. He also mentioned the recent case involving local civil service exams, which similarly involves central government interference.
"Remember that the corruption in the local exams was organized by a central agency, the Department of Local Administration. Therefore, the local authorities are being made scapegoats. When the Prime Minister takes serious action on this, I want him to also investigate his own political associates," he said.
Natthapong said he had received complaints from various sources, including local civil servants, who said that suspending only those with objections after the exams would be acceptable, but suspending all affected many innocent people who took the exams legitimately and are now suffering consequences, as are the local administrations.
He emphasized that if political figures are involved, he wants the Prime Minister to act firmly, just as he has with career officials, without waiting for judicial processes or investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) or other lengthy procedures. Internal party mechanisms can handle this swiftly.
"Regardless of who is Prime Minister, when such information comes up, the first step must be to remove those possibly involved. Removing suspicious officials through transfers is not wrong. But comparing it to the Phuket case, the public questions what offenses prompted these transfers or if the real reason was to replace them with loyalists. The Prime Minister or government must clarify this, and society should ask if these moves are mere cover-ups," he said.
Natthapong also spoke about progress on drafting a new constitution, noting that the civil society network ConForAll is currently collecting at least 50,000 signatures for a new draft. He urged the public to support this, which aligns with the Constitutional Court judges' opinion that a Constitution Drafting Assembly can be directly elected. He warned not to let some political groups twist the judges' statements, noting that a 'judicial opinion' is not the same as a 'judgment.' Various sectors, including the People's Party, are working to amend the draft constitution to align with the judges’ views to allow direct election of the CDA.
"The deeper reason behind some people's actions is to delay this process. I want everyone to show their power by signing widely to ensure the new constitution truly comes from the people. If we can amend the nation's highest rules, political rules will improve and the justice system will become more transparent," he said.
He added that the parliamentary speaker should also be asked, given the Constitutional Court judges' opinion, whether there is any hidden agenda to rush a constitution that monopolizes control. Delaying clause-by-clause consideration of the draft until receiving revised drafts from civil society, political parties, and the People's Party for simultaneous review would be a more elegant process.