Cambodia’s Hun Sen pushes on with forming government, rejects opposition role
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pushed ahead with forming a new government on Tuesday and said he had rejected a demand from the main opposition party, which says it won July’s general election, to be given senior positions in parliament. … Hun Sen told reporters that, in talks last week, the CNRP had not pressed its demand for an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities during the July poll, but had sought the position of National Assembly president plus six of the 12 committee chairmen’s jobs. “Have you ever seen, anywhere in the world, a minority party holding the position of the president of parliament?” he asked. The prime minister suggested the real reason for the opposition boycott of parliament was not alleged vote-rigging, but its failure to secure top jobs. “If we’d agreed to their demand for the presidency, they would surely have attended the meeting,” he said. … The Cambodian constitution stipulates that “the National Assembly shall comprise at least 120 members”. The opposition and some political analysts say that means a quorum of 120 lawmakers is needed to open parliament. Monday’s session went ahead after the names of the 123 elected members were simply read out and Hun Sen said in a short speech to the house on Tuesday that everything had been done legally. He says the rules stipulate a new government can be formed if a minimum 63 of the 123 lawmakers vote in favour and his premiership was endorsed by the 68 CPP members on Tuesday. The names of ministers have not yet been announced, but a first cabinet meeting is due to be held on Wednesday.
