People’s Party calls on government to drop planned referendum on ending MOUs 43–44

People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut on Monday urged the government to scrap its plan to hold a referendum on terminating two border memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Cambodia.

Natthaphong said that while he respected majority opinion, he disagreed with holding a referendum on MOUs 43 and 44, arguing that most people did not fully understand the complex border issues involved.

He cited results of a recent public opinion poll showing that a large proportion of Thais lack understanding of the two MOUs, meaning the outcome of a referendum would not reflect the public’s true will.

On Sunday, the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) released the results of its latest survey, which found that 65.50% of respondents supported terminating MOUs 43 and 44. However, between 44.11% and 45.73% admitted they did not understand the agreements.

Natthaphong added that the four-month term of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government was too short to educate the public about the complex border demarcation issues contained in the two MOUs.

He noted that discussions on such sensitive matters must often be conducted behind closed doors to avoid putting the country at a disadvantage, making it even harder to explain the issues clearly to the public ahead of a referendum.

Given the technical and sensitive nature of border demarcation, Natthaphong said, the government should take responsibility for making the decision itself rather than passing it to the public through a referendum.

The government has announced plans to hold a referendum on ending the two MOUs alongside the next general election.

Natthaphong also pointed out that voters would already have to answer two referendum questions related to charter amendments during the election. Adding another ballot with questions about the MOUs, he said, would make the voting process overly complicated.

He reaffirmed that the People’s Party would continue to voice opposition to the proposed referendum before the government makes a final decision. However, if the government proceeds with it, the People’s Party and other political groups would need to help explain the complex issues to the public ahead of the vote.