Cambodian News

An independent election monitor expressed concern Wednesday that the increase of political parties in the National Assembly could weaken the political voice of the opposition.
In July’s elections, the Sam Rainsy, Human Rights, Norodom Ranariddh and Funcinpec parties all won seats, and if they remain disjointed, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, with its 90 seats, will [...]

Cambodia has the potential to be an industrialized nation, but corruption and impunity have kept it politically immature, a former US ambassador said.
Sichan Siv, who serverd as US ambassador to the United Nations, said Cambodia has slowly overcome its problems since the early 1990s, but certain impediments remain.
“The problems of corruption, crime and impunity still [...]

With the decline of royal family members in politics and with electoral regulations and state institutions favoring the ruling party, election observers and analysts said they fear Cambodia’s political system is losing its multi-party structure.
The retirement from politics of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, a longtime rival of the Cambodian People’s Party, has combined with an apparent [...]

Cambodian politicians should write a law for power-sharing formulas to replace negotiations that do not reflect democratic principals, analysts said recently, following a structuring of the National Assembly that puts vast control of all committees with the ruling party.
The Cambodian People’s Party will head all nine of the National Assembly committees, leaving little room for [...]

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 6 — The Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) made moves to clarify a Thursday announcement by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, saying that the prince had resigned as president of the NRP, but has not yet decided to leave politics entirely, national media reported Monday.
On Thursday evening, Ranariddh hosted a dinner for local journalists and [...]

An independent election monitor plans to invite 60 youths to a seminar on Thursday to discuss the challenges facing young Cambodians interested in politics.
The Committee for Free and Fair Elections will host the one-day seminar in Kampong Cham province.
Participating youths will be encouraged to raise their concerns in social and political participation, especially with regards [...]

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — The Cambodian National Election Committee (NEC) declared Tuesday the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) has secured 90 seats, or over two thirds of the 123 seats, at top legislative body in the general election, thus enabling CPP to have stronger management of the country.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Sam Rainsy [...]

Among his childhood memories, Sam Rainsy recalls sitting with his father on the rooftop terrace of their beautiful house in Phnom Penh, watching pelicans land next to their water tank. “In Cambodia, which is full of superstitions, friends and neighbours kept telling us that these pelicans would end up by bringing us bad luck,” he [...]

CONTINUING CONCERNS ABOUT CHINESE HUMAN RIGHTS — The spectacular Olympic picture China has sought to paint for a world audience continues to be marred by human rights abuses, as media outlets, human rights groups and international diplomats put pressure on the Olympic host to ease controls on the Chinese people.
U.S. President George W. Bush made [...]

Hong Kong, China — The ruling Cambodian People’s Party won a landslide victory in the country’s general election on July 27, claiming 90 out of 123 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house in the bicameral parliamentary system – although final results will not be announced till September.
This party almost wiped out its long-standing [...]