News
NEC, Oz envoy talk election preparations
Australian ambassador Justin Whyatt on May 5 met with National Election Committee (NEC) chairman Prach Chan to discuss preparations for the July 23 national elections. During the meeting, Whyatt recounted his mission to Cambodia between 2002 and 2003 to observe the commune council and general elections. ...
Kim Yutharo
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/nec-oz-envoy-talk-election-preparations
Poll criticism a ‘serious insult’, PM tells the UN
Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday, Hun Sen defended July’s national elections and hit out at criticism from certain unnamed countries, calling them a “serious insult” to the will of the Cambodian people that showed “the ambition to interfere” in the ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/poll-criticism-serious-insult-pm-tells-un
PM vows to step down if CPP loses
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday reiterated his promise to willingly hand over power to a new leader should he lose the July 29 national elections. However, he was quick to point out that he expects to maintain his position as there isn’t any other ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-vows-step-down-if-cpp-loses
Grassroots party lays out policy platform
The Grassroots Democratic Party has created a 125-point policy document outlining its priorities were it to be elected to office in the July national elections. The fledgling party has said that it will contest the elections, though any further deterioration in the country’s current political ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/grassroots-party-lays-out-policy-platform
US says more sanctions on table in response to political crackdown
Visiting US State Department official W Patrick Murphy yesterday warned that further punitive action could be forthcoming in response to the government’s recent crackdown on the main opposition, while repeatedly pointing to the US’s warm relationship with the people of Cambodia – if not their ...
Andrew Nachemson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national-politics/us-says-more-sanctions-table-response-political-crackdown
Economists assail opposition proposal to ditch US dollars
Economists on Tuesday lambasted the CNRP’s proposal to eliminate the use of U.S. dollars for transactions in the country within one year of a victory in next year’s national elections, saying the policy would be “a disaster” and “impossible.” ...
Brendan O’byrne
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/economists-assail-opposition-proposal-to-ditch-us-dollars-131307/
Carving Tbong Khmum from Kampong Cham may see CPP gain assembly seat
Four years ago, when the opposition snatched Kampong Cham away from the ruling party in 2013 national elections, it hinted at a deeper shift taking place in what was then the Kingdom’s most populous province. ...
Mech Dara and Erin Handley
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/carving-tbong-khmum-kampong-cham-may-see-cpp-gain-assembly-seat
Opposition's strong showing in Cambodia vote may signal change in election landscape
Although the official results will not be released until June 25, the closely watched vote for Cambodia’s commune council elections showed the opposition’s growing strength and suggest that the national elections in 2018 will be a race between two parties. ...
PM christens school with warnings of war
With crucial local elections around the corner and a national contest set for next year, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday returned to warning Cambodians that a vote for anyone but the long-ruling CPP was a vote for plunging the country back into the bloody ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/pm-christens-school-with-warnings-of-war-125951/
PM scorns suppression threat
Prime Minister Hun Sen has scorned a threat to suppress the CPP if the ruling party fails to accept the loss of power in national elections next year. Mr. Hun Sen warned anyone committing to the suppression plan before the election results are announced officially, saying ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/35771/pm-scorns-suppression-threat/
Gov’t pushes census to 2019
The 2018 national population census will be pushed back a year in order to focus on the 2018 national elections, the government announced on Friday. According to article 6 of the Statistics Law, the census must be conducted at least once every 10 years, with the ...
Taing Vida
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/30167/gov---t-pushes-census-to-2019/
Land prices in Phnom Penh increase by 15 per cent in first quarter
The more Cambodia’s economy grows and the more investors come into Cambodia has had some positive and negative effects, and one of those effects is to push up land prices in Phnom Penh for the first quarter in 2013, an increase of 15 per cent. Sorn ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/land-prices-phnom-penh-increase-15-cent-first-quarter
Koh Pich Awash With Development, but Don’t Ask for Details
Business is booming on Koh Pich. Since development began in 2006—and about 300 families were pushed off what was then farmland—the island has slowly grown into the symbol of commercial modernity in Phnom Penh. The developer, Overseas Cambodia Investment Corp., is also extending the island by ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/koh-pich-awash-with-development-but-dont-ask-for-details-36411/
Timing of stats questioned
For the first time in recent memory, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has released growth projections for the first half of the year, and the numbers are good. The ministry’s preliminary data claims that from January through June, economic growth stood at 7.6 per ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/timing-stats-questioned
Cambodia election will not have influence on tourism
Tourism is one of the major sectors supporting the Cambodian economy. Last year, the country attracted 3.58 million foreign tourists, generating 2.2 billion US dollars in revenues. The Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Tuesday that the July 28 national elections in Cambodia would not ...
http://www.eturbonews.com/36396/cambodia-election-will-not-have-influence-tourism
Cambodian opposition chief arrives home after 4 years in exile
Cambodia’s charismatic opposition leader Sam Rainsy arrived in his home country on Friday morning after spending nearly four years abroad in self-imposed exile to avoid an 11-year prison sentence on charges of disinformation and destruction of public property. Hun Sen said his request to the ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-07/19/c_132555198.htm
Hun Sen Signs Off on Royal Pardon for Sam Rainsy
Prime Minister Hun Sen has signed off on a Royal Pardon, which would allow for opposition leader Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia ahead of the national election on July 28, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said. Mr. Rainsy has been in self-imposed exile ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-signs-off-on-royal-pardon-for-sam-rainsy-34675/
Congressional Hearing in US Pushes Cut to Cambodian Aid
At a congressional hearing in Washington on Tuesday that scathingly rebuked Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling CPP, a U.S. lawmaker called for legislation to cut American aid to Cambodia following the national election on July 28. Representative Steve Chabot, who chaired the House Subcommittee ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/congressional-hearing-in-us-pushes-cut-to-cambodian-aid-34389/
EU Draft Memo Defended Voter List Margin of Error
Audits of the voter list which claimed that up to 1 million people could lose their right to vote in the July 28 national election were attributed to an “unavoidable margin of error” due to many citizens not having national identity cards or a permanent ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/eu-draft-memo-defended-voter-list-margin-of-error-32909/
Ban on Radio Broadcasts Lifted Amid US Pressure
The Ministry of Information on Saturday lifted a ban on the broadcast of all Khmer-language foreign radio programs by FM stations during the month leading up to the July 28 national election amid swift and harsh rebuke from the U.S. and the broadcasters themselves. The ministry ...
Unlike Past Elections, Property Investors Remain Buoyant
Ahead of elections 10 years ago, people across the country would hoard rice in case the vote sent the country spiraling into a state of turmoil. Businesses across the country would bide their time before making any major investments. And those who could afford to ...
Hun Sen Mocks Opposition Request for Donors to Freeze Aid
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday rebuked the opposition for urging foreign donors to refrain from signing any new agreements with the government until after the election and boasted of a new $26 million handed over last week by the European Union (E.U.) E.U. Ambassador ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-mocks-opposition-request-for-donors-to-freeze-aid-31547/
Call for Oversight of Cambodian Land Campaign
A land titling campaign in Cambodia launched and financed by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s lacks transparency and could leave thousands of people landless, a human rights group said Wednesday, urging the country’s donors to push for reform of the program. The campaign, which employs volunteer youth ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/land-06122013150317.html
Garment IPO May Arrive in Time for Polls
After the listing of Taiwanese-owned garment company Grand Twins International (Cambodia) Plc on the Kingdom’s stock exchange was delayed indefinitely, its underwriter said yesterday that the firm hopes to list before the national elections in late July. According to the underwriter, Phnom Penh Securities (PPS) Plc, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013060566066/Business/garment-ipo-may-arrive-in-time-for-polls.html