❓ Claim checked: Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of People’s Party, said during a Thairath debate that he would amend Section 112.
❌ Fact-check result: Inaccurate content. The leader of People’s Party did speak about Section 112, stating that it is a law with problems and expressing hope that society would work together to find ways to improve or amend it. However, he did not say that the People’s Party would proceed with amending it.
📝 Summary of the content:
On 25 December 2025, several media outlets reported that Anutin Charnvirakul, Acting Prime Minister, gave an interview referring to the program “Another Debate with Thairath: Election 2026”, broadcast on Thairath TV on 23 December, stating:
“I watched the Thairath debate and learned that the leader of People’s Party was the only one on stage who still insisted that Section 112 of the Criminal Code must be amended. If he remains fixated on this issue, the Bhumjaithai Party will definitely not join. Any party that wants to join may do so, but from what I saw, none of the candidates from other parties said they would amend Section 112, except the People’s Party.”
(Source: Matichon website)
Subsequently, many social media users challenged Anutin’s statement, arguing that during the debate, the leader of the People’s Party only responded to the moderator’s question about including political prisoners prosecuted under Section 112 in an amnesty bill, and did not talk about amending Section 112 itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L84iBy_RmckOn 25 December, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, chairman of the Progressive Movement, commented on this issue on the program The Standard Now, saying:
“…Khun Anutin may have misunderstood. What Khun Natthaphong stated that day was about political amnesty. It had nothing to do with Section 112. The Constitutional Court has already ruled that issues related to the monarchy cannot be used in election campaigning. So I think Khun Anutin likely misunderstood this matter.”
🔎 Cofact’s verification:
After reviewing the clip of the program “Another Debate with Thairath: Election 2026” published on the YouTube channel “Thairath News – ข่าวไทยรัฐ” on 23 December, Cofact found that toward the end of the debate, the moderator asked the prime ministerial candidates from all eight participating parties:
“If you were prime minister, would you agree with an amnesty bill that includes political prisoners prosecuted under Section 112? If you agree, please raise your hand.”
Natthaphong was the only one who raised his hand in agreement. The moderator followed up by asking whether the People’s Party would move forward in pushing this issue. The party leader responded:
“We will try to push forward within the existing limitations. The amnesty law has already passed through parliament. Regarding the process going forward, if the People’s Party forms the government, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting freedom of expression for the people. No one should be imprisoned for expressing their thoughts. In fact, we must refer to the Constitutional Court’s ruling. At present, no political party can include this issue as a campaign policy anymore. But I would like to leave one final position: we must accept the fact that this law still has some problems, for example, the issue of the minimum penalty. The Constitutional Court’s ruling leaves room for amendments. But how it should be amended, under the existing political constraints, the People’s Party hopes that Thai society will collectively reflect on this issue and find ways to improve or amend it in the future.”
📌 Cofact’s conclusion:
Based on Natthaphong’s response above, it can be concluded that the leader of the People’s Party did indeed speak about amending Section 112 during the Thairath debate on 23 December, affirming that the law has problems and expressing hope that Thai society would jointly find ways to improve or amend it in the future.
On 24 December, Natthaphong gave an interview on the program “Kammakorn Khao Khuynorkjor” in a similar vein regarding Section 112, saying:
“This law is truly a problem in Thai society. We do political work to address problems in every area. As long as we do not dare to discuss this issue frankly and continue to sweep it under the rug, society will have no way out.”
However, Natthaphong did not state that the People’s Party would proceed with amending Section 112. He also reaffirmed, both during the Thairath debate and on “Kammakorn Khao Khuynorkjor”, that the Constitutional Court’s ruling prevents political parties from including this issue as a campaign policy. Therefore, Anutin’s statement that “no party answered that it would amend Section 112 except the People’s Party” may lead to the misunderstanding that the People’s Party would move forward with amending Section 112 if it forms the government after the 2026 election.
Cofact also reviewed the People’s Party policy website for the 2026 election, launched on 25 December, which lists more than 200 policies. In the sections on democracy and national security, no policy related to Section 112 was found. Regarding the policy on amnesty for political cases, the party states that it will:
“Push for amnesty for political cases involving citizens from all groups from 2006 to the present, restore rights to those with differing views, but not grant amnesty to coup-makers or officials who used excessive force in dispersing protests.”
Note: This political fact-checking report is part of the project “Information Integrity Towards Fact-Free Fair Elections in Thailand”, conducted by Cofact, Thai PBS Verify, and Thammasat University, with support from the German Embassy in Thailand.
