Thailand’s Parliament approved the country’s broadest political amnesty in two decades, restoring political rights to thousands of people involved in two decades of political conflict while excluding those prosecuted under the country’s strict lèse-majesté law.
The House of Representatives passed the “Promotion of a Peaceful Society Act” by a vote of 306-141, with two abstentions, after the Senate approved amendments on June 30. The bill now awaits royal approval.
“It is the country’s largest amnesty because it covers 20 years,” said Yutthaporn Issarachai, a political analyst at Sukhothai University, in an interview with Agence France-Presse.
Yutthaporn estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 people could benefit from the measure.
The law covers political offenses committed between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 16, 2025, spanning years of confrontation involving the royalist Yellow Shirts, supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Red Shirts, and participants in the youth-led pro-democracy protests of 2020 and 2021.
It is intended to address cases arising from Thailand’s prolonged political divisions while restoring political rights to many of those convicted over their involvement in political demonstrations.
The legislation allows eligible individuals to seek public office again and halts pending criminal proceedings covered by the law. It does not overturn convictions.
“The bill does not mean to erase their guilt but will return their political rights,” Yutthaporn said.
The law excludes convictions under Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code, the lèse-majesté provision that criminalizes criticism of the king and members of the royal family.
The exclusion leaves many leaders of the youth-led movement that called for reform of the monarchy outside the scope of the amnesty.
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, 1,997 people have been prosecuted for participating in unauthorized demonstrations or expressing political opinions during protests that began in July 2020.
Among them, 290 were charged under Article 112, which authorities widely enforced during the administration of former Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha.
In a report by Asianews, political scientist Olarn Thinbangtieo of Burapha University’s Faculty of Political Science and Law said those cases now represent Thailand’s most significant unresolved political disputes.
“While political leaders are being granted amnesty despite the divisions that have marked the country for over a decade, the actions of young people have had much less impact on the overall political structure. They deserve the opportunity to move on,” he said.
He argued that many of the young defendants had matured through their experiences, caused no lasting damage to the country, and came to recognize what he described as the political realities surrounding the parties and leaders they had trusted.
The law also excludes convictions for corruption, assault, and murder. As a result, former Prime Minister Thaksin is not covered despite receiving a royal pardon after serving eight months of a one-year prison sentence for corruption and abuse of power.
Civil liability also remains unaffected.
