Opposition lawmakers and parliamentary staff have raised strong objections to the continuation of the budget debate in Parliament until midnight on Monday and Tuesday due to significant logistical and practical challenges.
Lawmakers said staying in Parliament until midnight, only to return home around 2 a.m. and reconvene by 8 a.m., imposes an undue strain.
They had requested two additional days for debate to compensate for sessions canceled due to the ongoing flood and landslide crisis, but their request was not granted.
Opposition MPs added that officials suggested speeding up the debate by reducing the list of speakers or limiting individual speaking time, which they said would compromise the thorough discussion required for the national budget.
In light of the disaster situation, the Parliamentary Business Committee decided to cancel the budget debate scheduled for Friday (28), limiting Parliament to a brief session from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Saturday’s session (29) was also canceled.
The budget debate is now set to resume today (01) and continue until midnight on Tuesday (02), as Parliament seeks to complete discussions disrupted by recent extreme weather events affecting large parts of the country.
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