News

In what some are calling one of the most significant threats to democracy that Cambodia has faced in a generation, the CPP-controlled National Assembly on Monday voted to give the government and courts sweeping new powers over political parties. ...

Cambodia’s parliament today passed a controversial provision that severely curtails the power of the country’s opposition parties and effectively bans former opposition leader Sam Rainsy from returning to power.   ...

Members of the opposition CNRP have decided to boycott the National Assembly’s (NA) plenary session today, saying amendments to the law on political parties which are being debated today will lead to national disunity and run contrary to democratic principles. ...

A U.S. congressman on Wednesday called on the CPP to abandon an imminent vote on legislation that would give the Cambodian government sweeping new powers to abolish its political rivals, the same day the U.S. ambassador met with CNRP acting President Kem Sokha to discuss ...

The National Assembly will vote on Monday on landmark legislation giving the government unprecedented new powers to suspend and dissolve its political rivals, and with barely a note of concern from the democracies helping bankroll the country. ...

The National Assembly’s Permanent Committee will next week conduct an urgent plenary session to review and adopt the draft amendments to the law on political parties, despite strong requests for a delay from the opposition. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said he will not allow members of the opposition to question government ministers in the National Assembly (NA), telling a pro-government news outlet that the opposition had to “respect the law first.” ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said he would consider releasing four human rights officers and an election official – who have been detained since April – after the verdicts in their cases, but he said two members of the opposition will receive no such consideration. ...

Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers are considering boycotting next week’s extraordinary plenary session vote to strip away their role as the National Assembly’s minority group, saying the ruling party-backed proposal highlight’s the parliament’s weakness. ...

After being questioned for more than two hours at the National Assembly yesterday, Environment Minister Say Samal claimed the number of forest crimes decreased in 2016, but acknowledged that some government officials were involved in some of the crimes. A recently released report from the University ...

The chairman of the National Assembly’s corruption commission says a technical explanation from the Mines and Energy Minister over alleged irregularities in sand exported to Singapore is not clear enough. The controversy over the sand exports emerged after about 50 NGOs asked the Ministry of Mines ...

Minister for Mines and Energy Suy Sem will appear at the National Assembly on Thursday to answer questions about a more than $700 million discrepancy in data on sand exports to Singapore, according to a letter signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

The National Assembly’s anti-corruption commission has asked Suy Sem, the minister of mines and energy, to appear for questioning on December 15, as villagers in Koh Kong province cast doubt on government claims that it had temporarily banned sand mining there. Mr. Sem will answer questions ...

Opposition lawmakers have requested Health Minister Mam Bunheng appear at the National Assembly to answer questions over graft, irregularities and poor services within his portfolio, including claims that officials from the National Malaria Centre misappropriated cash from the Global Fund. ...

Members of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party voted in the National Assembly yesterday to back a 2017 national budget that outlines spending of $5 billion, but opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) members refused to give it their support. ...

CNRP vice president Kem Sokha will next week leave the safety of the opposition’s headquarters in Phnom Penh for only the second time since police attempted to arrest him six months ago, with a party official saying he plans to attend Tuesday’s sitting of parliament. ...

Several of the opposition-led commissions in the National Assembly have plans to summon three ministers to clarify several ongoing issues, including the sand exports to Singapore and the murder of political analyst Kem Ley. During a Tuesday evening press conference at the Cambodia National Rescue Party ...

The National Assembly (NA) yesterday approved a proposal by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to punish politicians who are absent from parliamentary meetings without a “reasonable” explanation, the assembly spokesman said, after a boycott by the opposition. ...

The CNRP said on Tuesday it would join today’s meeting of the National Assembly’s agenda-setting permanent committee in hopes of pushing ahead with proposed amendments to a trio of contentious laws on judicial independence. ...

Cambodia and Vietnam have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to exchange parcels of land in provinces along the border in both countries after Joint Border Committee meetings in Ho Chi Minh City in July and last Thursday. The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry released information on its ...

Opposition members of the National Assembly may soon have their pay and expenses docked if they continue their months-long boycott of the sessions. The Parliamentary Permanent Committee is thinking of amending the National Assembly’s internal regulations to include disciplinary articles concerning members who boycott sessions, including ...

The CNRP said on Thursday it would end its monthslong boycott of the National Assembly by joining today’s session, despite no signs of the “comprehensive solution to the current political crisis” it had sought as a condition for its return. After days of publicly equivocating about ...

Although many jailed political opponents and civil society workers may disagree, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said he has “mercy, compassion, and sympathy” for those who oppose him, telling a crowd of students that the political situation was up to interpretation: those who believe there ...

The opposition on Tuesday appeared to wobble toward an end to its almost five-month boycott of the National Assembly, despite having seemingly achieved no notable concessions from the ruling party. he CNRP has sat out full National Assembly sessions since May to protest a court ...