People's Party Delays Decision on 32nd Prime Minister Vote

 

Thai opposition party People's Party has postponed its decision on how to vote for the country's 32nd Prime Minister, with MPs referring the matter to the party's executive committee for a final decision tomorrow.

 

The party's parliamentary meeting concluded without reaching a resolution, instead voting to pass the decision to the party's executive committee for tomorrow's crucial deliberation.

 

The party maintains its position that any Prime Minister should be elected specifically to dissolve Parliament and amend the constitution, whilst confirming it will not join the government.

 

Speaking at 5:30 PM on 2nd September 2025, Pakornwut Udompipatskul, a People's Party MP and opposition chief whip, addressed the media following the party meeting.

 

"Today there was no resolution," he stated. "Over the past two days, we have listened to MPs' opinions and opened consultations to all 100,000 party members to gather views on selecting the Prime Minister."

 

Pakornwut emphasised that MPs were unanimous in agreeing the party should continue gathering opinions.

 

"Tomorrow's executive committee meeting will make the decision. We confirm no decisions have been made yet - we're waiting for the party leader to call the executive meeting, which we'll try to arrange as quickly as possible."

 

The MP clarified that today's session involved only opinion-sharing without formal voting, reflecting feedback from constituents.

 

"Everyone understands this isn't an easy decision. We all understand we're not choosing the best Prime Minister, but selecting a Prime Minister to lead towards parliamentary dissolution and constitutional amendment," Pakornwut said.

 

When asked about reports suggesting the party had decided to support Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, as Prime Minister, he responded: "I don't know who released that information or their intentions."

 

Party spokesperson Parit Wacharasindhu reinforced that the decision doesn't rest solely with the MPs' meeting, emphasising input from all party sections.

 

He confirmed the party's stance on rapid dissolution and power transfer.

 

"If the caretaker Prime Minister won't dissolve Parliament, we must use the process of selecting a new Prime Minister to fulfil the mission of dissolution. We've been calling for this for two months from the Pheu Thai government," Parit said.

 

The spokesperson expressed distrust of both potential candidates - Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai parties - stating: "We don't trust either side. Whilst there are feelings involved regarding both Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai, we won't let emotions drive our decision. We're designing the most rigorous decision-making process to control a minority government and ensure promises are kept."

 

The People's Party has outlined three conditions for supporting a new Prime Minister:

 

• The new Prime Minister must dissolve Parliament within four months of delivering the policy statement to Parliament, to facilitate swift new elections

 

• A referendum must be organised to lead towards drafting an entirely new constitution by elected constitutional drafters, but not earlier than the general election date

 

• The People's Party will not join the government and will remain in opposition to fully scrutinise the new government, with no party members serving as ministers in the new cabinet

 

 

The party's executive committee will convene on 3rd September 2025 to consider all gathered opinions for the final decision.

 

Parit reiterated the party's unchanged position that "dissolving Parliament and holding new elections" remains the best solution for the country.

 

He questioned the intentions of caretaker Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who has not clearly indicated his position on parliamentary dissolution, noting that remaining until the end of term would not serve the public interest.

 

Party leaders indicated they are positioning themselves as opposition to scrutinise a minority government and push for the government to honour promises regarding parliamentary dissolution and new elections.

 

"We're awaiting opinions from party members and will vote on our decision tomorrow. This will be an executive committee resolution. Currently, we have 100,000 party members, with 20,000 having submitted opinions and 80,000 still pending," Parit confirmed.

 

The People's Party issued a Facebook statement denying reports that Anutin Charnvirakul would visit their party headquarters this evening, confirming this as false information.

 

The party stressed that the decision on how their MPs will vote will be made by the executive committee on Wednesday, 3rd September 2025, and urged the public to follow news only through the party's official channels.