Elections

The Royal Palace has released a statement demanding that King and Queen Mother’s names be left out of politics and asked people not to “exploit” their names for political ends, state media claimed Thursday. “The Royal Secretariat of Her Majesty Queen-Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk has issued ...

Defense Minister Tea Banh used the annual meeting of national military police in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to reiterate that the armed forces would remain committed to defending Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government in the ongoing political dispute with the opposition CNRP, local media and ...

While the opposition and ruling parties have been shuffling negotiating proposals back and forth to break the political deadlock over recent weeks, one main contentious point remains unresolved: an early election, Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy said yesterday. The CNRP responded affirmatively to a ...

The CPP government has established a 10-member inter-ministerial electoral reform commission headed by CPP Interior Minister Sar Kheng, according to a sub-decree obtained Wednesday. The opposition CNRP and rights organizations have been calling for electoral reform since July’s national election was marred by widespread allegations of ...

Cambodia’s economy grew by 7 percent in 2013 even though political row over the July election has still persisted, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) said Tuesday. The growth was lower than that of 2012, which was up to 7.3 percent. “In 2013, Cambodia’s economy achieved ...

Members of the European Union’s parliament are calling for the Cambodian government to conduct an investigation into allegations of fraud in July’s election. A resolution passed by EU parliamentarians last week follows a violent crackdown on labor and opposition protests that have posed a challenge to ...

European Union (E.U.) Ambassador to Cambodia Jean-Francois Cautain distanced himself Monday from a European Parliament resolution calling for an independent investigation into July’s disputed national election and the killing of five striking garment workers this month. The European Parliament on Thursday passed the resolution, which urges ...

Upcoming elections for district, city and provincial councillors will follow a period of “education”, the National Election Committee has announced, despite observers’ view that the results are all but preordained. And though the May 18 vote is only open to sitting commune councillors, NEC secretary-general Tep ...

King Norodom Sihamoni would welcome a role as mediator in talks between the Cambodia National Rescue Party and Cambodian People’s Party, an adviser to the Royal family has said. Om Daravuth, an adviser to the office of Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, said that the ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Saturday that there will be “no tolerance” for those who try to overthrow the current government. “I will not allow any groups or individuals to take the country hostage and any act with the characteristics as a coup is unacceptable,” ...

Kem Sokha, Vice President of the Cambodian National Rescue Party, hinted about talks with Cambodia People’s Party to find peaceful solution. However, he did not elaborate how to move ahead and what options should be made for the breakthrough. ...

Speaking two weeks after crushing opposition party demonstrations demanding his resignation, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday called on supporters of his ruling CPP to prepare to stand up against any group aiming to overthrow his government. “All of you who voted for the CPP, be ...

A United Nations official Friday urged Cambodian government and opposition officials to keep negotiating in an effort to end a political impasse. At the end of a five-day visit to Cambodia, Surya P. Subedi, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the country, ...

In the strongest international reaction to the contested result of July’s national election yet, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday calling on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to conduct an independent, internationally led investigation of the election and the killing of five garment ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen warned opposition leaders on Saturday not to put Cambodia hostage for political benefit or face a government crackdown. “Do not try to put this country hostage for bargaining your power,” Hun Sen said, warning that any attempt to stage a civil war ...

The royalist Funcinpec Party suspended 114 members from its 340-member steering committee late last month, citing the fact that they had recently been unable to fulfil their obligations, the party said yesterday. ...

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a spending bill that would suspend some funding to Cambodia until the government carries out an independent investigation of July’s disputed national election and reforms its electoral system, or until the opposition ends its boycott of parliament. The ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on a U.N. special envoy to press the country’s opposition to rejoin parliament and negotiate an end to the country’s political stalemate since disputed July elections, an official said Wednesday. Hun Sen met with U.N. special envoy for human ...

In a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen and 10 of the government’s highest-ranking officials in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi called for the perpetrators of recent state-sanctioned killings to be held accountable for their actions. Mr. Subedi spent three-and-a-half hours ...

UN envoy on Thursday said that the political compromise is the only way to end the political deadlock in Cambodia, asking political parties to return to negotiation table to normalize the situation. Speaking at a news conference, Surya Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur on situation of Human ...

The continuing suspension of traffic-law enforcement by traffic police since the run-up to July’s national election has had a detrimental effect on road safety practices, a senior Ministry of Interior official admitted Tuesday. Road safety groups have already expressed concern that the decision to halt enforcement ...

Cambodia’s opposition has been in talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen to find a deal to end the political crisis caused by last year’s disputed general election and a compromise may be near, two analysts briefed on the matter said. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy and his ...

Cambodia’s opposition leaders were questioned in court Tuesday in connection with recent protests against strongman premier Hun Sen — a case they denounced as politically motivated. Prosecutors at Phnom Penh Municipal Court spent several hours grilling Sam Rainsy and his deputy Kem Sokha about unrest that ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday reiterated that he would not step down as demanded by the country’s main opposition party since the contested election last July. “No need to speak much. I will not step down,” he said during the groundbreaking ceremony for a ...