Government chief whip, Wisut Chainaroon, said today that he is confident all the governing coalition’s 324 MPs will vote for the passage of the 2026 fiscal budget bill in its first reading in the House of Representatives.
The House is scheduled to meet from Wednesday to Saturday to debate the bill.
Wisut dismissed speculation that some coalition parties may break ranks and will not vote for the bill, which could lead to the dissolution of the House, noting that all government MPs realise the importance of the budget bill.
He said that the Pheu Thai party has set up a support team to prepare information to be used during the debate, particularly on certain controversial projects like the “digital wallet” scheme.
The government and opposition camps are each allocated 20 hours to speak in the debate, plus one hour for the House Speaker.
The Central Fund, the Finance, Education, Interior and Defence ministries are the five with the biggest budget allocations:
1. Central Fund: 632.97bn baht
2. Finance Ministry: 397.86bn baht
3. Education Ministry: 301.275bn baht
4. Defence Ministry: 204.43bn baht
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is currently in Kuala Lumpur to attend the ASEAN Summit, said she is ready for the debate, adding that she has instructed all ministries to prepare to defend their budgets.
Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, also leader of the Bhumjaithai party, offered an assurance that there is no conflict between his party and Pheu Thai and that the party’s MPs will vote in favour of the budget bill.
