Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni (Source: thesoutheastasiaweekly.com)Hanoi (VNA) – Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on October 25 signed a royalordinance approving four controversial amendments to elections laws.
The four amendments to election laws includeAmendments to the Law on the Election of the Members of Parliament, Amendmentsto the Law on the Election of the Senate, Amendments to the Law on the Electionof Commune Councils, Amendments to the Law on the Election of the Capital,Provincial, Municipal and District Councils.
The changes allow the National Election Committee(NEC) to reallocate seats of parties who refuse their seats or are dissolved.
The Cambodian Constitutional Council announced onOctober 24 that it has approved four controversial amendments to election laws,which had been passed by the National Assembly and Senate on October 16 and 20,respectively.
[Cambodian constitutional council approves changes of election laws]
In early October, the Cambodian Ministry of Interiorasked the Supreme Court to disband the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party(CNRP), based on complaints from the Cambodian Youth Party (CYP) on October 4and the FUNCIPEC Party on October 5 accusing the CNRP and its President KemSokha of treason.
The new laws will pave the way for the CNRP’s seats tobe redistributed if the party is dissolved.
Cambodian media outlets have several times mentionedthe possibility of the CNRP being dissolved. The 55 seats in the NationalAssembly will be given to FUNCIPEC (41 seats), League for Democracy Party (sixseats), Khmer Anti-Poverty Party (five seats), Cambodian Nationality Party (twoseats) and the Khmer Economic Development Party (one seat).-VNA
