Government & politics — Cambodia

• history: previous 1947;
• latest promulgated 21 September 1993 amendments: proposed by the monarch, by the prime minister, or by the president of the National Assembly if supported by one fourth of the Assembly membership; passage requires two-thirds majority of the Assembly membership; constitutional articles on the multiparty democratic form of government and the monarchy cannot be amended; amended several times, latest 2022

• chief of state: Kin
• g Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004) head of government: Prime Minister HUN MANET (since 22 August 2023); note - MANET succeeded his father, HUN SEN,
• who had been prime minister since 1985 cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime
• minister and appointed by the monarch elections/appointments: monarch chosen by the 9-member Royal Council of the Throne from among all eligible males of royal descent; following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition named prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and appointed by the monarch

Description

• bicameral Parliament of Cambodia consists of: Senate (62 seats; 58 indirectly elected by parliamentarians and commune councils, 2 indirectly elected by the National Assembly, and 2 appointed by the monarch; members serve 6-year terms)
• National Assembly (125 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
• elections:
• Senate - last held on 25 February 2018 (next to be held on 29 February 2024)
• National Assembly - last held on 23 July 2023 (next to be held in July 2028)

Election Results

• - Senate - percent of vote by party - CPP 96%, FUNCINPEC 2.4%, KNUP 1.6%
• seats by party - CPP 58; FUNCINPEC 2
• Independent 2;
• composition - men 52, women 10, percent of women 16.1%
• National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 82.4%, FUNCINPEC 9.2%, KNUP 1.7%, CYP 1.3%, other 5.4% (14 other parties received votes); seats by party - CPP 120, FUNCINPEC 5; composition (as of January 2024) - men 108, women 17, percent of women 13.6%;

Note

total Parliament of Cambodia percent of women 14.4%

Note

• the CPP had no meaningful opposition in the July 2023 legislative election as the only serious challenger - the Candlelight Party - was disqualified on a technicality in advance of the election
• the EU, UN, and US condemned the poll as neither free nor fair

• highest court(s): Supreme Council (organized into 5- and 9-judge panels and includes a court chief and deputy chief); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); note - in 1997, the Cambodian Government requested UN assistance in establishing trials to prosecute former Khmer Rouge senior leaders for crimes against humanity committed during the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime; the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (also called the Khmer Rouge Tribunal) was established in 2006 and began hearings for the first case in 2009; court proceedi
• ngs remain ongoing in 2021 judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court and Constitutional Council judge candidates recommended by the Supreme Council of Magistracy, a 17-member body chaired by the monarch and includes other high-level judicial officers; judges of both courts appointed by the monarch; Supreme Court judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council judges appointed for 9-year terms with on
• e-third of the court renewed every 3 years subordinate courts: Appellate Court; provincial and municipal courts; Military Court

24 provinces (khett, singular and plural) and 1 municipality (krong, singular and plural) provinces: Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom, Kampot, Kandal, Kep, Koh Kong, Kratie, Mondolkiri, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin, Preah Sihanouk, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Pursat, Ratanakiri, Siem Reap, Stung Treng, Svay Rieng, Takeo, Tbong Khmum municipalities: Phnom Penh (Phnum Penh)

• Candlelight Party or CP [TEAV Vannol]
• Cambodian People's Party or CPP [HUN SEN]
• Cambodian Youth Party or CYP [PICH Sros]
• Khmer National Unity Party or KNUP [NHEK BUN CHHAY]
• National United Front for Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM CHAKRAVUTH] note 1: 18 parties registered to run in the 2023 parliamentary election note 2: the Cambodian Government disqualified the Candlelight Party, the main opposition party, from the July 2023 election

• no citizenship by descent only: at least one par
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

ADB, ARF, ASEAN, CICA, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador W. Patrick MURPHY (since 23 October 2019) embassy: #1, Street 96, Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh mailing address: 4540 Phnom Penh Place, Washington DC 20521-4540

telephone

[855] (23) 728-000

FAX

[855] (23) 728-700

Email address and website

• ACSPhnomPenh@state.gov
• https://kh.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador KEO Chhea (since 19 April 2022)

chancery

4530 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

telephone

[1] (202) 726-7742

FAX

[1] (202) 726-8381

Email address and website

• camemb.usa@mfaic.gov.kh
• https://www.embassyofcambodiadc.org/