Borwornsak urges passage of charter amendment bills by December 15

Deputy Prime Minister Borwornsak Uwanno on Wednesday called on MPs and senators to pass the final readings of three charter amendment bills by December 15 to allow the next general election to be held on March 29, 2026.

Debate on three charter amendment bills

Borwornsak was speaking during the second day of parliamentary debate on three charter amendment bills sponsored by the People’s Party, the Bhumjaithai Party, and the Pheu Thai Party. The bills seek to amend Article 156 and add a new Chapter 15/1 on the drafting of a new constitution.

He explained that passing the three bills by mid-December was necessary in the event that the Public Referendum Amendment Bill could not be enacted in time.

Legal timeline for referendum

Borwornsak noted that under the current Public Referendum Act, a referendum cannot be held sooner than 90 days after Parliament informs the Election Commission to proceed.

He said the coalition government, led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, had agreed under its memorandum of understanding with the People’s Party to dissolve the House by January 31, paving the way for an election on March 29.

Timeline to align referendum with election

To save on the substantial cost of a public referendum, Borwornsak said the government intended to hold the referendum on constitutional rewriting on the same day as the election. Therefore, the three charter amendment bills paving the way for a new constitution must be approved by December 15, he emphasised.

“I would like to seek parliamentarians’ kindness to pass the three drafts so that they can be consolidated into one by no later than December 15–20,” Borwornsak said.

Second scenario if new referendum law is passed

However, Borwornsak added that if the new Public Referendum Bill were enacted in time, the waiting period could be shortened to 60 days.
In that case, he said, Parliament could delay the passage of the three charter amendment bills until January 15–19.