The parliament has voted against a Move Forward Party (MFP) proposal to hold a referendum on whether a Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) should be elected to draft a new constitution.

On 25 October 2023, the MFP’s motion regarding a referendum on drafting a new constitution was rejected by the parliament, with 262 voted against, 162 voted in favour, and 6 abstentions.

Parit Wacharasindhu, the MP who filed the motion, asserted that amending some sections of the charter is not sufficient to address its many problems. He stated that it is necessary instead to draft a new, democratic constitution as the current one lacks legitimacy in both process and content.

Parit argued that the CDA must be formed through an election process. Acknowledging that many people are concerned that drafting a new constitution would lead to the amendment of Section 1 and Section 2 regarding the form of the state and the monarchy, he said that it would not fundamentally change the state and government structure, an action restricted by Section 255 of the constitution.

Parit reiterated that the question proposed for a referendum - whether people agree that Thailand should have a completely new constitution drafted by an elected CDA  - is not new but rather was discussed and unanimously agreed to by all political parties during the previous parliamentary session in November 2022.

Given that less than a year has elapsed since then, he saw no reason for MPs to change their stance and felt that anyone who did should explain themselves in the parliament.

Pheu Thai Party leaders reportedly agree that there is a need to draft a new constitution but did not support the MFP’s motion out of concern that using parliamentary mechanisms to organise a referendum would require the approval of the Senate.

On 3 November 2022, the same motion was proposed by the then opposition parties, the MFP and the Pheu Thai Party. At the time, The House of Representatives approved it with a unanimous vote of 324 in favour, 0 against, and 1 abstention. Following its endorsement by the House, the motion was forwarded to the Senate where it was rejected when 157 senators voted against it.