Anutin Chanvirakul emphasized that holding the no-confidence debate from October 27 to 29, with voting on October 30, is the most appropriate schedule because many ministers have prior commitments. He also revealed that the government might increase the opposition's speaking time and deflected questions about the merger of the Kla Tham party, saying the matter will be handled step by step.
At 10:00 a.m. on October 21, 2026 GMT+7, Anutin Chanvirakul, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, gave an interview at the parliament building regarding the timeframe for the no-confidence debate. He stated that today, the three-party whip committees will hold discussions, with the government assigning Pradorn Prissanantakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, to represent them in the talks. Regarding the proposed schedule of October 27-29 for debates and October 30 for voting, he clarified that this cannot be called a government demand but rather a government proposal, since all ministers must be present during the debate period and refrain from traveling abroad—especially the 18 ministers facing scrutiny, some of whom have prior commitments, including himself who has foreign engagements. Following this, there will be an official offsite cabinet meeting (Cabinet Retreat) in Udon Thani province for the World Horticultural Expo, then the ASEAN Summit and the APEC meeting, which several ministers must attend, along with royal ceremonies. Considering these factors, the period from October 27 to 29 appears to be the time when everyone can listen to the debate and clarifications.
When asked to confirm whether this timeframe is the clearest despite the Prime Minister's scheduled trip to Bhutan, Anutin stated, “We have informed everyone. I believe all parties are reasonable and flexible. We assigned Pradorn to explain to the whip meeting. If the debate is held over three days, we might increase the opposition's debate hours because the responses don’t require hours. If responses took hours, some would go off-topic. We prefer focused, substantive answers—addressing questions clearly and presenting evidence. If the dates cannot be changed, we can adjust the hours. We aim to reach an agreement without tension between both sides.” When asked whether the opposition would accept this offer for additional time, Anutin replied that it depends on the whip meeting's decision.
Regarding widespread speculation that the no-confidence debate will lead to political changes such as a cabinet reshuffle and the inclusion of the Kla Tham party in the coalition, Anutin said the debate has not yet started and the dates are not finalized. When further asked about the possibility of a Kla Tham merger with Bhumjaithai Party after the debate, he said the process will be handled step by step. Today, since the debate dates are not set, they will wait for the debate to occur and then for the vote before discussing further.
However, when pressed about reports that the Kla Tham party would merge with Bhumjaithai Party, Anutin responded by asking, “Who reported that? If it’s the reporters, you should ask amongst yourselves.”