Amid growing political turmoil, Parliament is expected on 9 July to debate five bills proposing amnesty for people facing political prosecution. The royal defamation law remains a point of contention as the Government Whip insisted that all draft legislation must not propose amnesty for those found guilty of violating it.

Pheu Thai MP Visuth Chainaroon, Chair of the Government Whip in the House of Representatives, said on 28 June that the agenda for the 9 July session will include the referendum bill previously proposed by the Pheu Thai Party but rejected by the Senate, and the United Thai Nation Party’s national harmony bill, which is essentially an amnesty bill. Four other amnesty bills will also be discussed, as amnesty is a priority for resolving conflict in the country. The bills will be debated in parliament, where everyone can freely express their views, Visuth said, before voting on whether to accept every bill or only a selected few. However, he insisted that all the bills must not include amnesty for those found guilty of royal defamation.

Of the five amnesty bills submitted to parliament, only the draft submitted by the Network for People's Amnesty, a network of civil society groups,  proposes amnesty for people charged with royal defamation.

Drafts from the United Thai Nation Party, Thai Teachers for the Peoples Party, and New Palang Dharma Party state that amnesty should not be granted to those charged with royal defamation.

As for the People’s Party draft, it suggests establishing a committee for case-by-case consideration.

Amnesty for royal defamation charges has always been a contentious issue.

Towards the end of 2023, the Network for People's Amnesty called for the authorities to halt still pending legal actions against political protests as well as online and offline political expression. A petition in support of the People’s Amnesty Bill was launched in November 2023. It obtained 35,905 signatures and was submitted to Parliament on 14 February, 2024.

Instead of adopting any of the proposed bills, Parliament established a special Amnesty Committee in February 2024 to study the framework for an amnesty law. The Committee released a report in July 2024, proposing three options for 'sensitive cases' such as those under Section 112: no amnesty, unconditional amnesty, and conditional amnesty.

The report was acknowledged by a majority in the House, but the recommendations intended to guide the Cabinet in drafting future legislation were rejected because many party members expressed concerns that the proposal could reignite political conflicts by including sensitive cases.

Representatives of the People's Amnesty Network filed a petition with representatives of government whip

On 3 July, the People’s Amnesty Network went to parliament to submit a petition to government whip representatives, calling for sincerity and responsibility from the government and members of the House of Representative regarding their promise to foster political reconciliation. The call came after parliamentary debate on the amnesty bills was postponed at the end of the last session.

The network made three urgent demands:

1. That civil society’s version of the bill be brought before parliament within the session’s 120-day timeframe, instead of being indefinitely postponed.
2. That amnesty for royal defamation charges be considered in the second reading to resolve the ongoing political conflict, since the royal defamation law has been used against people who participated in symbolic action, criticism, or engaged in political activism.
3. That amnesty be extended to all groups of people but exclude offences committed by state officials.

Pheu Thai MP Chanok Chanthathong, Deputy Chair of the government whip committee, said that she would bring the matter up during their meeting, which is expected to take place on Monday (7 July)

She also added that as the country has faced political hardships for over 20 years, the government would prioritise discussion of the bills, including the draft submitted by the People’s Network, on the meeting agenda.

On 3 July, opposition leaders met to discuss the way forward after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended by the Constitutional Court over a breach of ethics for the leaked phone call with Cambodian Senate Presdient Hun Sen.

People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said that the opposition’s stance is to find a common ground on issues they can collectively push for, while remaining respectful of each party’s position. Among the issues discussed were the amnesty bills. He said that the opposition parties have different views on the matter and a working group will be set up to study approaches.