Politics of Cambodia: Wikis




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The politics of Cambodia formally takes place according to the nation's constitution (enacted in 1993) in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Cambodia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament, the National Assembly of Cambodia and the Senate.


Executive branch

Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
King Norodom Sihamoni 14 October 2004
Prime Minister Hun Sen CPP 1985


The Prime Minister is officially the Head of Government in Cambodia. Upon entry into office, he or she appoints a Council of Ministers who are responsible to the Prime Minister. Officially, the Prime Minister's duties include chairing meetings of the Council of Ministers (Cambodia's version of a Cabinet) and appointing and leading a government. The Prime Minister and his government make up Cambodia's executive branch of government.

The current Cambodian Prime Minister is Cambodian's People Party (CPP) member Hun Sen. He has held this position since the criticized 1998 election, one year after the CPP staged a bloody coup in Phnom Penh[1][2] to overthrow elected Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of the FUNCINPEC party.

Legislative branch

The legislative branch of the Cambodian government is made up of a bicameral parliament.

  • The National Assembly of Cambodia (Radhsaphea ney Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea) has 123 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation.
  • The Senate (Sénat) has 61 members. Two of these members are appointed by the King, two are elected by the lower house of the government, and the remaining fifty-seven are elected popularly by "functional constituencies." Members in this house serve a five-year term.

The official duty of the Parliament is to legislate and make laws. Bills passed by the Parliament are given to the King who gives the proposed bills Royal Assent. The King does not have veto power over bills passed by the National Assembly (the lower house) and, thus, cannot withhold Royal Assent. The National Assembly also has the power to dismiss the Prime Minister and his government by a two-thirds vote of no confidence.



The upper house of the Cambodian legislature is called the Senate. It consists of sixty-one members. Two of these members are appointed by the King, two are elected by the lower house of the government, and the remaining fifty-seven are elected popularly by electors from provincial and local governments, in a similar fashion to the Senate of France. Members in this house serve six year terms.

Elections were last held for the Senate in 1999. New elections were supposed to have occurred in 2004, but these elections were initially postponed. On January 22, 2006, 11,352 possible voters went to the poll and chose their candidates. This election was criticized by local monitoring non-governmental organizations as being undemocratic [1].

As of 2006, the Cambodian People's Party holds forty-three seats in the Senate, constituting a significant majority. The two other major parties holding seats in the Senate are the Funcinpec party (holding twelve seats) and the Sam Rainsy Party (holding two seats).

National Assembly

National Assembly building.

The lower house of the legislature is called the National Assembly. It is made up of 123 members, elected by popular vote to serve a five-year term. Elections were last held for the National Assembly in July 2008.

In order to vote in legislative elections, one must be at least eighteen years of age. However, in order to be elected to the Legislature, one must be at least twenty-five years of age.

The National Assembly is led by a President and two Vice Presidents who are selected by Assembly members prior to each session.

As of 2009, the Cambodian People's Party holds a majority of the seats in the National Assembly, controlling 90 out of the 123 seats. The Sam Rainsy Party holds 26 seats and other parties hold the other 7 seats.

Political parties and elections

Latest elections

2003-07-27 National Assembly Elections Results

Political Parties # seats won # valid votes
CPP 73 2,447,259
FUNCINPEC 26 1,072,313
Sam Rainsy Party 24 1,130,423
Others 0 518,842
Total 123 5,168,837

Source: http://www.necelect.org.kh/English/ElectionResult/Result_2003/Result_2003.html

2006-01-22 Senate Elections Results

Political Parties # seats won # votes estimated
CPP 43 7,854
Sam Rainsy Party 2 1,165
Total 54 11,352

Sources: List of Senators

Ruling party wins Cambodia poll

Judicial branch

The judicial branch is independent from the rest of the government, as specified by the Cambodian Constitution. The highest court of judicial branch is the Supreme Council of the Magistracy. Other, lower courts also exist. Until 1997, Cambodia didn't have a judicial branch of government despite the nation's Constitution requiring one.

The main duties of the judiciary are to prosecute criminals, settle lawsuits, and, most importantly, protect the freedoms and rights of Cambodian citizens. However, in reality, the judicial branch in Cambodia is highly corrupt and often serves as a tool of the executive branch to silence civil society and its leaders [2].


Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy, i.e. the King reigns but does not rule, in similar fashion to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The King is officially the Head of State and is the symbol of unity and "eternity" of the nation, as defined by Cambodia's constitution.

From September 24, 1993 through October 7, 2004, Norodom Sihanouk reigned as King, after having previously served in a number of offices (including King) since 1941. Under the Constitution, the King has no political power, but as Norodom Sihanouk was revered in the country, his word often carried much influence in the government. For example, in February 2004, he issued a proclamation stating that since Cambodia is a "liberal democracy," the Kingdom should allow gay marriage. While such views aren't prevalent in Cambodia, his word was respected by his subjects. The King, often irritated over the conflicts in his government, several times threatened to abdicate unless the political factions in the government got along. This put pressure on the government to solve their differences. This influence of the King was often used to help mediate differences in government.

After the abdication of King Norodom Sihanouk in 2004, he was succeeded by his son Norodom Sihamoni. While the retired King is highly revered in his country for dedicating his lifetime to Cambodia, the current King has spent most of his life abroad in France. Thus, it remains to be seen whether the new King's views will be as highly respected as his father's.

Although in the Khmer language there are many words meaning "king", the word officially used in Khmer (as found in the 1993 Cambodian Constitution) is preahmâhaksat (Khmer regular script:Seihamuni11.png), which literally means: preah- ("sacred", cognate of the Indian word Brahmin) -mâha- (from Sanskrit, meaning "great", cognate with "maha-" in maharaja) -ksat ("warrior, ruler", cognate of the Indian word Kshatriya).

On the occasion of HM King Norodom Sihanouk's retirement in September 2004, the Cambodian National Assembly coined a new word for the retired king: preahmâhaviraksat (Khmer regular script:Sihanouk6.png), where vira comes from Sanskrit vīra, meaning "brave or eminent man, hero, chief", cognate of Latin vir, viris, English virile. Preahmâhaviraksat is translated in English as "King-Father" (French: Roi-Père), although the word "father" does not appear in the Khmer noun.

As preahmâhaviraksat, Norodom Sihanouk retains many of the prerogatives he formerly held as preahmâhaksat and is a highly respected and listened-to figure. Thus, in effect, Cambodia can be described as a country with two Kings: the one who is the Head of State, the preahmâhaksat Norodom Sihamoni, and the one who is not the Head of State, the preahmâhaviraksat Norodom Sihanouk.

Succession to the Throne

Unlike most monarchies, Cambodia's monarchy isn't necessarily hereditary and the King is not allowed to select his own heir. Instead, a new King is chosen by a Royal Council of the Throne, consisting of the president of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, the Chiefs of the orders of Mohanikay and Thammayut, and the First and Second Vice-President of the Assembly. The Royal Council meets within a week of the King's death or abdication and selects a new King from a pool of candidates with royal blood.

It has been suggested that Cambodia's ability to peacefully appoint a new King shows that Cambodia's government has stabilized incredibly from the situation the country was in during the 1970s (see History of Cambodia).

International organization participation

ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), International Monetary Fund, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WB, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Provincial and local governments

Below the central government are 24 provincial and municipal administration.[3] (In rural areas, first-level administrative divisions are called provinces; in urban areas, they are called municipalities.) The administrations are a part of the Ministry of the Interior and their members are appointed by the central government.[3] Provincial and municipal administrations participate in the creation of nation budget; they also issue land titles and license businesses.[3]

Since 2002, commune-level governments (commune councils) have been composed of members directly elected by commune residents every five years.[4]

In practice, the allocation of responsibilities between various levels of government is uncertain.[3] This uncertainty has created additional opportunities for corruption and increased costs for investors.[3]



  1. ^ http://cambodia.ohchr.org/Documents/Statements%20and%20Speeches/English/40.pdf
  2. ^ http://www.hri.org/docs/statedep/1997/97-07-08.std.html
  3. ^ a b c d e Private Solutions for Infrastructure in Cambodia: A Country Framework Report. World Bank (2002), p65. ISBN 0821350765.
  4. ^ Untitled Document

External links




Overview Article on Cambodia's Contemporary Political Economy: "The Neoliberal 'Order' in Cambodia: Political Violence, Democracy, and the Contestation of Public Space" by Simon Springer, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.


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