News

King Norodom Sihamoni signed off on four sets of controversial amendments to Cambodia’s electoral laws yesterday, officially approving provisions that will allow the opposition CNRP’s seats to be redistributed in the event of its dissolution. ...

In the latest attempt to push its narrative of an impending “colour revolution”, the Press and Quick Reaction Unit released a sweeping, nearly hourlong video, broadcast on multiple television stations on Monday night, attempting to link the opposition’s activities to protest movements in the Middle ...

A Swedish diplomat yesterday warned that the potential dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party could lead the Scandinavian country to rethink its relationship with the Kingdom, though she didn’t detail which actions were on the table. ...

With the fate of the CNRP still in the Supreme Court’s hands, the National Assembly yesterday paved the way for all of the main opposition party’s seats to be handed over to a smattering of smaller parties and, at the local level, to the ruling ...

Anticipating popular unrest surrounding the “treason” trial of opposition leader Kem Sokha, Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Friday instructed provincial governors, police chiefs and officers to block people from travelling to the capital and to prevent any attempts at demonstrations. ...

The seemingly impending demise of Cambodia’s main opposition, and the snap draft laws put in motion to replace them in parliament, threatens to throw a handful of obscure parties into the political arena at the highest level. ...

The Cambodian People’s Party is rewriting the nation’s political laws yet again, this time to allow the Cambodia National Rescue Party’s 55 parliamentary seats to be dished out to minor parties – with royalist Funcinpec the main beneficiary in the sweep – in the event ...

On Friday, all the pieces fell into place. The Ministry of Interior, a day prior, had primed the media, instructing them on how to report the day’s events. The government’s investigation and filing to the Supreme Court that called for the main opposition party to ...

The Cambodian Youth Party (CYP) filed a complaint to the Ministry of Interior yesterday requesting the dissolution of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, as the royalist party Funcinpec reaffirmed its commitment to do the same. ...

When Cambodia National Rescue Party President Kem Sokha stood arm-in-arm with three newly minted deputies earlier this year, the quartet seemed eager and ready to address the party’s next challenge at hand: critical commune elections that could greatly bolster grassroots support. ...

The royalist Funcinpec party and the Cambodian Youth Party (CYP) have separately announced plans to file lawsuits to the Supreme Court to dissolve the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party over charges against leader Kem Sokha of treason. ...

Just two days after they first went up, some of the Cambodia National Rescue Party banners demanding the release of jailed party leader Kem Sokha are already coming down amid government objections. ...

The Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that the ongoing detention of opposition leader Kem Sokha was legal, despite claims his parliamentary immunity had been violated – and in spite of the fact that neither the accused nor his representatives were present. ...

Since the widely condemned arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha on “treason” charges this month, at least a dozen Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers have left the country, though a senior party official yesterday insisted they would “return soon”. ...

Jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha’s lawyers have said that they are under surveillance during meetings with their client in Tbong Khmum’s Trapaing Thlong prison, which they yesterday called a violation of their rights ensuring client-attorney conversations are confidential. ...

A Ministry of Interior directive requiring provincial approval for work done on commune halls prompted a thinly veiled threat from a ministry spokesman yesterday that a popular opposition commune chief could be arrested if she didn’t comply. ...

CNRP chief whip Son Chhay sought to lay down a unified party line yesterday, saying the opposition would push through the current political upheaval and contest next year’s critical national election, setting straight conflicting statements coming from various party officials. ...

Material apparently aimed at incriminating jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha continued to flow in over the weekend, with pro-government leaker “Seiha” releasing another video of Sokha expressing his gratitude to the US government for its assistance in building democracy in Cambodia. ...

Opposition members in Kampong Chhnang say they have been banned from meeting since the arrest of CNRP leader Kem Sokha on Sunday, with the provincial police chief yesterday saying he would “not allow” the party to “discuss politics”. ...

Jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha was officially charged with treason yesterday, about 36 hours after he was arrested at his Phnom Penh residence and sent to a Tbong Khmum prison. If Sokha is found guilty, his party could be dissolved based on new legislation that prevents ...

The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a bail application for Poipet Commune Chief Chao Veasna, who has been in pretrial detention since February for his alleged role in a protest that turned violent outside the border town’s customs office in 2015. ...

The Cambodia National Rescue Party will refuse to appoint a new president following the arrest of current leader Kem Sokha on Sunday, Deputy President Mu Sochua said yesterday, a decision she acknowledged may lead to the dissolution of the party should Sokha be convicted of ...

Police yesterday arrested Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha over allegations of treason, with Prime Minister Hun Sen accusing the opposition president of conspiring with the United States to oust his regime. In a startling escalation in an already deteriorating political climate, the premier ...

The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation into the opposition CNRP’s funding sources after the government-aligned Fresh News website posted a leaked document purporting to show that the party received funds from a foreign organisation. ...