"Korn" reveals opposition parties join forces to submit request for constitutional court interpretation of emergency decree on borrowing

Today (8 May 2026), 9:15 AM at the Democrat Party headquarters, Mr. Korn Chatikavanij, a list MP and deputy leader of the Democrat Party, stated that the People's Party and the Democrat Party have jointly signed a petition to be sent to the Constitutional Court to interpret whether the Emergency Decree on borrowing 400 billion baht violates Article 172 of the Constitution. They are ready to submit it to the Speaker of the House on May 11-12, 2026. He also mentioned that he has contacted the Kla Tham Party to join in signing the petition but is awaiting a meeting of the Kla Tham Party first. However, he insisted that the list of MPs who signed the petition is complete as required by the Constitution. Nevertheless, after submitting the petition, he believes Mr. Sophon will send it to the Constitutional Court promptly, which will take 2-3 days. He believes this will ensure it's done before the Parliament considers the emergency decree on borrowing next week.

Mr. Korn further stated that regarding the petition submitted to the Constitutional Court, he has seen the draft from the People's Party and finds it contains details and concerns concerning the borrowing. He also believes the government's need to borrow 400 billion baht is unnecessary, as the crises they cite, such as the oil price crisis, can be resolved through methods like reducing excise taxes and adjusting the oil price calculation formula.

Mr. Korn added that regarding the government's stated need for funds for the "Half-Price" project, scheduled to begin on June 1, 2026, he believes the government has many other options, particularly by following the Prime Minister's directives. As previously stated in the policy statement to Parliament, or as the Bhumjaithai Party campaigned, the 44 billion baht budget can be enacted through a Budget Transfer Act of 2026, eliminating the need for an emergency decree. Therefore, if the interpretation of the emergency decree for borrowing prevents the use of funds in the "Half-Price" project by June 1, 2026, the government must manage and resolve the issue itself.

Mr. Korn further stated that the 400 billion baht loan, as explained by Mr. Paradorn Prisnanantakul, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office, to Parliament on May 7, 2026, which indicated a two-part loan of 200 billion baht this year and another 200 billion baht in 2027 for energy transition projects, demonstrates a lack of unavoidable urgency. At the same time, the budget for the transition to clean energy can be stipulated in the draft. The 2027 Budget Act, specifically the part stating the second phase of borrowing in 2027, is crucial. According to the Constitution, the core justification for issuing an emergency decree is the immediate, unavoidable necessity of funds; otherwise, the economy will face problems. Therefore, saying "borrow now and stockpile it," or "borrow next year," is unacceptable. Doing so demonstrates that it's not an urgent matter that warrants an emergency decree.

“I don't oppose the government's planned projects, even without seeing the details, but I believe they align with the Democrat Party's policies. However, the provision in the emergency decree to borrow 200 billion baht next year indicates a lack of necessity according to the constitutional criteria. I am concerned that excessive borrowing will impact fiscal discipline and economic stability,” Mr. Korn said.

When asked whether the government would have to wait for a ruling from the Constitutional Court before parliamentary consideration if a petition is filed, Mr. Korn stated that, according to the law, if a petition is filed with the Constitutional Court before parliamentary consideration, the government must wait for the Constitutional Court's process to be completed, which takes no more than 60 days. He added that if the government is confident that its actions are in accordance with the Constitution, it should proceed accordingly. There is no reason not to allow for scrutiny and a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

When asked whether he was confident that the submitted issues would meet the criteria for the Constitutional Court to accept them for consideration, Mr. Korn said that Article 172 of the Constitution is very clear on the circumstances under which the government can issue an emergency decree to borrow additional money. It must be a crisis that affects the stability of the economic system.

When asked further whether the government would need to take responsibility if the Constitutional Court rejected the emergency decree, Mr. Korn said that this question should be directed to the government, as there is no specific penalty. It would likely be a matter of political responsibility, which requires careful consideration.

When pressed further on whether the government should resign, Mr. Korn said he did not want to discuss that point yet. He only wanted to prevent the government from crossing the line of fiscal discipline, which would affect economic stability and the public in the future. He added that he had expressed concerns about the origin of the emergency decree, noting that he learned about its initial issuance from Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilapraphan, who is responsible for legal affairs. However, on the same day, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance stated that he was unaware of the matter and also indicated that there was no need to issue an emergency decree at that time. Only three weeks have passed, so we need to ask what has changed between then and now that necessitates the rush to issue this emergency decree, especially since it didn't originate from the Ministry of Finance.

"Every government faces the problem of insufficient funds to do what they want to do. This is why we need laws to regulate how much money each government can spend and how much it can lose. Otherwise, there would be no limits. If governments could spend as much as they wanted, the country's fiscal situation wouldn't be like this today, and it could truly collapse in the future," Mr. Korn said.

Photo : Yanawut Samphaothong