House Speaker Won't Set No-Confidence Debate Date, Pushes Compromise
House Speaker Sopon Saran refused to unilaterally set a date for the upcoming no-confidence debate against ministers, urging the government, opposition, and Senate whips to compromise instead. Negotiations collapsed after the opposition rejected a four-day compromise and walked out, insisting on dates in November or December. Sopon said he would only write to the Cabinet once both sides agree, emphasizing that democracy requires dialogue, not imposed decisions.
At 08:20 on October 23, House Speaker Sopon Saran gave an interview regarding the Joint Coordination Committee meeting of the three parliamentary whips, which had failed to conclude on setting a debate date and allocating time for the no-confidence motion against individual ministers under Section 151 of the 2017 Constitution.
On October 22, Sopon assigned First Deputy Speaker Mallika Jirapanwanich to lead negotiations. However, both rounds of talks collapsed. The opposition demanded five days; the government offered three. A proposed compromise of four days was rejected when the opposition walked out. Opposition leaders and party chiefs then visited Sopon in his office.
Sopon said he wants negotiations to proceed smoothly and asked both sides to meet halfway at four days. The opposition replied that reducing the number of speakers would be difficult because they had already prepared their materials. When pressed, they said if four days were granted, any dates in November or December would work.
Sopon said he wants the debate finished so it does not become a burden, allowing parliament to move on to other business. But since the opposition insisted on November or December, exercising his discretion would only create more problems. He wants the House to resolve this through dialogue, so he sent both sides back to negotiate further. He emphasized his duty to exercise discretion only when both the questioning and answering sides are ready, and when all parties cooperate.
Asked whether the government would be ready in December, Sopon said he did not know — only that the opposition had confirmed they would accept dates in November or December if given four days.
Regarding a suggestion that the Speaker write to the Cabinet proposing specific dates such as November 7–11, Sopon said he could do so without issue. However, he stressed that resolution lies not in a letter but in each side stepping back two steps. If neither yields, democracy ends in a vote — and if dissatisfied with the outcome, the remedy is to test its legality in court.
