Meet Parit Wacharasindhu, the Oxford-educated MP leading Thailand’s charter change

Opposition MP Parit Wacharasindhu is leading the charge to replace the post-2014 coup Constitution, pushing for a new and “more democratic” charter to reshape Thailand’s future.

Parit, spokesman and list MP for the opposition People’s Party, argues that changing the 2017 Constitution and its political institutions is essential to “transforming Thailand’s flawed democracy into a full-fledged one”.

In a recent interview, he said the new supreme law must be drafted through the “most legitimate process possible”, starting with the formation of an elected constitution drafting assembly (CDA).

The first-time MP is working towards this goal through the House of Representatives committee on political development, mass communications and public participation, which he chairs.

As panel chair, Parit last Wednesday (January 8) called on the Pheu Thai-led government to fulfil its policy promise to write a new constitution “as soon as possible”.

He spoke out after Parliament whips, dominated by coalition MPs, voted to delay the deliberation of draft amendments enabling the formation of a CDA to write a new constitution. The meeting was postponed from January 14-15 to February 13-14.

Aiming to secure a new constitution before the next election, due in 2027, Parit is also pushing for reducing the three referendums currently required for charter change. The three-referendum proposal was approved last April by the previous government led by Srettha Thavisin.

Try, try, and try again

Parit, 32, has campaigned for years to change the 2017 charter, which was written by a junta-appointed drafting assembly.

Before becoming an MP, he co-founded the Constitution Laboratory (ConLab), which campaigned for a more democratic and progressive charter in collaboration with human rights group iLaw, the People’s Party’s predecessor Move Forward, and the Progressive Movement under the Re-Solution group.

In November 2021, Re-Solution submitted an amendment bill backed by more than 135,000 voters, seeking to scrap the Senate in favour of a single-chamber Parliament, replace Constitutional Court judges and members of other checks-and-balance agencies appointed under the 2017 charter, and reform the selection process for these agencies.

The draft also aimed to eradicate other legacies of the 2014 coup led by then-PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha, including chunks of the 20-year national strategy.

However, Re-Solution’s bill was shot down in Parliament.

Born on Constitution Day

Parit was born in Bangkok on December 10, 1992, which is celebrated as Constitution Day in Thailand.

Parit comes from a medical family, with both parents serving as doctors and professors of medicine at Chulalongkorn University. His father, Suttipong, is a paediatrician and former dean of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, while his mother Alisa is a psychiatrist and elder sister of former PM and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Parit attended Oxford University in England, graduating with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) in 2015. He was voted president of the Oxford Union, becoming the first Thai to attain the seat. Founded in 1823, the student-led Oxford Union is one of the world’s oldest debating societies.

Trainee under Uncle Abhisit

Parit first entered the political sphere in 2009 at just 17, working as a trainee in the Prime Minister’s Office during his uncle Abhisit’s tenure as prime minister.

After graduating from Oxford, he joined the multinational consultancy firm McKinsey & Company as a management consultant, a post he held for almost three years.

He made his full political debut in 2018, joining the Democrat Party and then co-founding the NewDem group of young party members. He contested a Bangkok seat in the 2019 general election but lost, as the Democrats suffered a humbling defeat in their traditional stronghold, failing to win any of the 30 seats up for grabs in the capital.

Parit resigned from the Democrat Party after it backed General Prayut’s bid to return as prime minister, defying Abhisit’s previous vow not to back Prayut.

During his break from politics, the aspiring politician campaigned for a more democratic constitution through ConLab. He also launched an education-focused start-up called Education Technology, becoming its chief executive.

The company created “Startdee”, a mobile application that Parit described as an “affordable and high-quality educational platform”.

In April 2022, he joined the opposition Move Forward Party as policy campaign manager. He contested the 2023 election under the party’s banner and was elected as a list MP. The opposition party appointed him as spokesman in September 2023.

Move Forward was disbanded in August last year by a Constitutional Court order that also banned its executives from politics. Parit joined its MPs in moving to the People’s Party, retaining his post as spokesman.