Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam on Saturday defended a plan to subsidise electricity bills this month, saying it is not an attempt to boost the government’s popularity in the May 14 election.
On Tuesday, the cabinet agreed to spend 10.4 billion baht from the central budget to subsidise the fuel tariff to ease the public’s financial burden stemming from higher electricity costs in a record-setting hot season.
As a result, some 23.4 million people could be given a subsidy of 150 baht to pay their bills this month.
Mr Wissanu said the central budget cannot be used if parliament has been dissolved, which occurred when the election was called.
However, the government can still seek permission from the Electoral Commission (EC) to spend money on emergencies, such a floods, electricity problems or an epidemic, he said.
“The EC had already granted permission [to use the central budget],” Mr Wissanu said. “If they had deemed the cabinet’s resolution was a campaign strategy, they would not have let us use it in the first place.”
It is up to the EC to decide if the move benefits a political campaign. “It was all decided to help the public, [it was] not a decision specifically made for anyone to gain more popularity [before the election],” he said.
The cabinet sent the subsidy request to the EC on Tuesday; however, the matter is still pending as the EC has been busy making preparations for Sunday’s advance voting and the main polling day on May 14.
“The government has consulted the EC about many issues, such as the promotion of government officials,” Mr Wissanu said. “For the fuel tariff subsidy, the EC has not sent any letter of notice to us. Therefore, it is unclear if the subsidy can be applied [this month].”
He said that if it is approved, the subsidy would apply to power bills from May to August.
