The opposition intends to submit a motion for a general debate against the government to the parliament president on Wednesday, saying the handling of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s parole will be among the issues in focus.
Pakornwut Udompipatskul, a Move Forward Party MP and the opposition chief whip, said the issues to be debated would also include the malfeasance of Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra, another fugitive former prime minister.
However, whether Move Forward will conduct this part of the debate on its own or let its fellow opposition parties do so remains to be seen, he said on Tuesday.
Mr Pakornwut also dismissed claims that his party had made a secret deal with the ruling Pheu Thai Party to not be too hard on the government.
A general debate gives opposition parties a forum to raise issues of public concern but does not carry the same weight as a censure debate, in which votes on ministers’ performance can be held.
Mr Pakornwut said last week that it is too early in the government’s term to hold a full-blown censure debate.
The topics for the general debate, which were proposed within the party, would soon be shortlisted to fit the allotted time, he said.
In any case, he said, the coming debate is not the only channel for the party to ensure the government is ultimately held accountable to voters.
It will serve as a forum for the opposition to inquire about the government’s progress in implementing the core policies promised in its policy statement half a year ago, he added.
The 10,000-baht digital wallet and constitutional amendment policies, for instance, have yet to achieve any significant progress, he noted.
“An indication of how the country will be changed for the better during the government’s four-year tenure should have begun to take shape already in the first seven to nine months, I think,” he said.
“The government’s incomplete promises justify an inquiry.”