Hundreds march in Thailand seeking constitutional reform
A coalition of activists marched to Bangkok this month demanding Thailand replace its military-drafted constitution. Landless farmers, environmental defenders, and Deep South peace activists say the 2017 charter entrenches unelected power whilst weakening protections they depend on.
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Bangkok – Hundreds of activists completed a 55-kilometre march from Ayutthaya to Bangkok’s Democracy Monument on 10 December, demanding that Thailand scrap its military-drafted constitution and replace it with a charter written by elected representatives, ahead of a snap general election scheduled for 8 February 2026.
The five-day march brought together landless farmers, environmental defenders, women’s rights and Deep South peace activists, who argue the 2017 Constitution weakens their rights whilst strengthening unelected power.
According to the activists, the constitutional structure itself creates the problem. Many social protections are written as state duties rather than citizens’ rights. Universal pensions, for example, appear as a government obligation, not a guaranteed entitlement.
“When you turn people’s rights into state duties, the state can choose whether to act or not,” said Saengsiri Treemanka of the NGO Coordinating Committee on Development, which organised the march. “And the state always finds excuses not to act.”
The debate reflects Thailand’s deeper political conflict ahead. The 2017 Constitution was drafted after the military’s 2014 coup. The junta justified the charter by citing political instability between 2006 and 2014, two coups, street protests, and repeatedly dissolved governments. An appointed Senate and strengthened oversight, military leaders argued, would check populist politicians from abusing power.
Civil society groups contend the charter entrenched military and elite control over elected civilian government, which is why the marchers demand a constitution written by elected representatives, not military appointees.
Land rights as constitutional guarantee
Chusri Olankit, who marched with the Southern Peasants’ Federation of Thailand, represents a land struggle that began in 2006, when thousands of farmers mobilised and secured two thousand plots totalling 200,000 rai across the three southern provinces of Chumpon, Surat Thani and Krabi from abandoned private land and expired concessions.
Since organising formally in 2008, the federation’s crucial demand has been for the state to issue community title deeds – legal collective ownership that would prevent land from being sold to outsiders or accumulated by corporations. Despite Cabinet approval of a community title deed bill in 2010, Thailand has yet to issue a single such deed.
Chusri emphasised that joining the march was about wanting to see farmers’ rights and fair land allocation. Under community title deeds, she explained, land would be managed collectively with special plots allocated for women to work together.
“We want equality and decentralisation where women participate in decision-making,” Chusri said. “Universal welfare, women’s rights, and care workers’ rights in the new constitution.”
Environmental rights in the constitution
Supaporn Malailoi, who joined the march representing the Environmental Law Foundation (EnLaw), said the 2017 Constitution concentrates environmental decision-making with the state rather than local communities.
She argued that environmental management authority must be rewritten in the constitution to return power to people’s hands. Currently, the constitution centralises decision-making power at the central government level. The constitution must decentralise environmental and resource management authority to communities, she said, and not just look at resource benefits but also consider future use and environmental care.
“The right to a good environment is an important foundation in our collective demands,” Supaporn said.
When environmental protection becomes a state duty rather than a community right, she argued, citizens must plead with authorities instead of exercising direct control over resources affecting their lives.
Rights over security in the charter
For Deep South marchers, constitutional reform connects to ending armed conflict that has killed over 7,000 people since 2004. Martial law has been in place in the region since 2005.
Sohabuddin Loyapa from the Pattani River Protection Network, who participated in the march, argued that martial law enables development projects like power plants and dams without community consultation, whilst conflict produces ongoing human rights violations. A new constitution emphasising rights and freedoms, he said, would improve the human rights situation in the region.
Hakim Pongtiko, who read a statement during the march on behalf of the Patani Community Activist Network, argued that political solutions require constitutional guarantees prioritising people’s lives over state security.
Sukri Mama, a marcher from The Patani group, said: “We march to say no one else should suffer losses,” Sukri said. “Political conflict must be resolved through political approaches.”
If a genuine people’s constitution emerges, he said, Thailand’s political culture would shift. Thai taxes would no longer fund security policies or war. The state should prioritise peace processes and people’s participation, Sukri argued.
The march took place just days before Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved Parliament, triggering a snap general election scheduled for 8 February 2026.
This story is part of a collaborative reporting project between HaRDstories and Wartani, supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.
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- by Nicha Wachpanich
- by Nicha Wachpanich
