The Democrat Party accepts the Constitutional Court's ruling but is concerned it sets a new precedent for unnecessary borrowing that pushes debt to the ceiling. It emphasizes that the second budget lacks a clear plan and fails to reduce foreign dependence.
On 9 Jul 2026 GMT+7 at the parliament, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, party-list MP and leader of the Democrat Party, commented on the Constitutional Court's ruling that the government's 400 billion baht borrowing decree is constitutional. He said the Democrat Party, as one of the petitioners, accepts the court's ruling but has not yet seen the detailed reasoning, only the summarized decision.
He said they need to study the court's reasoning carefully because they worry this ruling might create a precedent allowing the government to borrow during normal economic conditions when budgets are insufficient. This could become a new standard, impacting the financial discipline framework established by law since the constitution. Thailand has had relatively few problems with this over the past decades. They will review the ruling in detail but are concerned the borrowing will push the public debt-to-GDP ratio close to the 70% ceiling, despite government assurances to parliament that they have no plan to raise the debt ceiling. They urge the government to clarify its medium- and long-term fiscal plans, including how to increase revenue and reduce spending next year. Otherwise, the government might need to borrow more or raise the debt ceiling again. They hope no more borrowing decrees of this kind will be issued.
Mr. Abhisit added that regarding the second tranche of funds for energy projects, even some minority Constitutional Court justices found it did not meet the conditions. He called on the government to clarify the details promptly and allow all parties to participate in scrutinizing projects for maximum efficiency and transparency. When asked if the ruling exceeded expectations, he said they trust their reasoning and recognize two points: firstly, the court has historically been cautious not to impede the executive branch's work; secondly, the current court interprets economic security broadly, making it difficult to clearly prove a constitutional violation.
When further asked how the Democrat Party hopes to see the second tranche of the 200 billion baht budget used, Mr. Abhisit said that since the government insists on urgency and economic security impact, borrowing should proceed quickly. However, monitoring by various mechanisms, including the special commission reviewing the 2027 budget bill, shows a lack of details about this. They worry about the readiness to scrutinize these projects. Importantly, they are concerned the government only focuses on economic security, while in fact, over-reliance on oil and gas imports remains a problem. The government only mentions support for solar energy and electric vehicles but actually promotes more imports, which does not reduce foreign dependence. Other alternatives exist, such as palm oil, but it is unclear how committed the government is. The government insists the main project is just promoting solar power and electric vehicles.