Bangkok: Somkid Chuekong, a former Pheu Thai Party MP for Ubon Ratchathani and former Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, expressed his belief that the public stands to gain from aligning with the Blue Party’s strategy. He criticized two other political parties for collaborating to mislead the public by rejecting the Constituent Assembly, as they aim to avoid constitutional amendments and limit public involvement.

According to Thai News Agency, Somkid highlighted concern over the 2017 Constitutional Amendment Committee’s decision to form a panel for revising the constitution without involving members of the Constitution Drafting Assembly. He argued that this decision undermines the principle of public participation by curtailing opportunities for citizens to contribute to the drafting of a new constitution.

Somkid further explained that the committee’s resolution did not mandate the selection of a Constituent Assembly for drafting the new constitution, instead allowing for public involvement. However, the committee’s voting pattern indicated an absence of genuine intent for constitutional amendment, aligning with the Bhumjaithai Party’s original stance. He emphasized that once Parliament is dissolved, the committee will no longer operate, making it impossible to fulfill the public’s aspiration for a new constitution. He noted that the Bhumjaithai Party seeks to exclude the People’s Party’s draft from the new constitution. For the People’s Party to promote change and public involvement, they must address the issue in the upcoming parliament.

Somkid remarked that the People’s Party was aware of Bhumjaithai’s intentions from the start, even when the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed, yet they allowed themselves to be deceived. This was because they understood Bhumjaithai’s tactical approach. Ultimately, if it were a People’s Party’s draft, it would not gain Senate approval. The committee was established to prevent public participation in drafting a new constitution, reflecting Bhumjaithai’s clear intent against amending the NCPO’s constitution. Despite this, both parties mutually benefited from the arrangement, also obstructing Pheu Thai. Somkid concluded that while the People’s Party recognized Bhumjaithai’s unwillingness to amend, it was ultimately the public who was most deceived when the two parties united to prevent public participation in constitution drafting.