Meeting halfway! Parliament settles on 4+1 days for government censure debate, totaling 72 hours for statements and debate, while locking in Dec 7–11 timeframe

Today (28 October 2026) at 2:50 PM at Parliament, following the joint meeting of the three-party House of Representatives Coordination Committee (whip)—chaired by Ms. Mallika Jirapanwanich, First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives—to determine the timeframe for the general debate for a vote of no confidence against individual ministers under Section 151 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2560 (2017), the meeting was concluded.

Mr. Korrawee Prissananantakul, Ang Thong MP from the Bhumjaithai Party and Chairman of the Government Whip, revealed that the three-party joint meeting reached a satisfactory conclusion for all sides. He expressed confidence that the censure debate would certainly take place as intended by all parties, as there was nearly 100% agreement.

Meanwhile, Mr. Parit Wacharasindhu, List MP from the People's Party and Opposition Whip Leader, stated regarding the number of days and hours for the censure debate that all sides wanted to allocate sufficient time for their respective duties—both for the opposition to present allegations and evidence, and for the government to clarify. The meeting mutually agreed to set a 4+1 day timeframe, consisting of 4 full days of debate, which represents a halfway compromise between the opposition's initial request for 5 days and the government's proposal of 3 days.

Mr. Parit further explained that the 4+1 day conclusion totals 72 hours. The opposition has been allocated 51 hours, an increase from previous debates due to a higher number of ministers being targeted. The Cabinet was allocated 17 hours for clarification, and 4 hours were reserved for the House Speaker. As a result, the debate on the first to third days will run from 08:00 a.m. to 03:00 a.m., while the fourth day will run from 08:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., prior to voting on the final day.

Regarding the dates for the debate, all sides agreed that the sooner it takes place, the better. Therefore, they responded to the Cabinet that the latest possible timeframe would be December 7–11, 2026, as proposed by the Cabinet, while asking the Cabinet to consider scheduling an earlier date if possible, as starting sooner would be most beneficial to their parliamentary duties.

On his part, Mr. Korrawee added that all three parties reached a common consensus on the dates, times, and time allocation. He considered the additional time granted to the opposition sufficient for scrutinizing, raising allegations, and questioning the government fully. Meanwhile, the government side, the Cabinet, and government MPs would also have enough time to manage their time and answer queries. Regarding the debate dates, they mutually agreed on December 7–11, 2026, as the latest timeframe to guarantee that the censure debate will definitely take place, though if the Cabinet can arrange an earlier schedule, they are requested to notify the House.

Concerning whether the Kla Tham Party would receive time quota for the censure debate from the opposition or government side and in what proportion, Mr. Parit specified that the time allocation must be divided between the opposition side and the Cabinet for clarifications. As a next step, the opposition must discuss the matter with the Kla Tham Party to ensure fairness, as Kla Tham expressed a desire to use a portion of the time to participate in the debate.

As for the exact proportion of time, it still requires further discussion with the Kla Tham Party depending on the scope of the debate content. In principle from previous censure debates, debaters must be co-signatories of the motion and hold a view of no confidence toward the targeted ministers; thus, further discussion with the Kla Tham Party is necessary.

Meanwhile, Mr. Attakorn briefly disclosed that the atmosphere of the meeting was positive, with the Kla Tham Party receiving nearly 2 hours of debate time.