"Prime Minister” Responds to Opposition Petitioning Constitutional Court to Interpret Emergency Decree on Borrowing

Today (12 May 2026), 12:20 PM at Government House, Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, gave an interview regarding the opposition's petition to the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the emergency decree authorizing the Ministry of Finance to borrow up to 400 billion baht to address the energy crisis and the country's energy transition violates the Constitution. The opposition argued that they did not see the urgent necessity.

The Prime Minister stated that the executive branch, or the government, as the administrator of the country, believed that the decree was urgently necessary and beneficial to the people.

The reporter then asked about the opposition's petition to the Constitutional Court. When asked if the emergency decree would disrupt government projects, the Prime Minister replied, "No," because the decree is already in effect and has been published in the Royal Gazette. There might be some delays if members of parliament who can gather 1/5 of the signatures submit a request, which would require the Speaker of the House to include it as the first item on the agenda. He emphasized that this is a separate issue, as one aspect is using the funds to assist the public, which will continue.

When asked if the Prime Minister had prepared a worst-case scenario if the Constitutional Court ruled the emergency decree unconstitutional, the Prime Minister stated that the government must fulfill its duty, which is to help the people, a responsibility of the executive branch.

Regarding a potential Plan B, the Prime Minister said, "There's only one plan: to help the people."

As for the risk to all cabinet positions concerning the emergency decree and whether the Prime Minister had a contingency plan if the Constitutional Court ruled differently, he replied, "At this point, if we're not confident, we shouldn't issue the emergency decree."

Photo : Weeraphat Ratsameerueangrong