Former Cambodian army commander enters government along with 9 new members

Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 07/07/2007. Military officials having their picture taken on the occasion of the inauguration of the new National Assembly. On March 12th, MPs placed their trust in recently dismissed former Cambodian army commander Ke Kim Yan, now appointed deputy prime Minister (Photo: John Vink / Magnum)

12-03-2009
By Duong Sokha
Ka-set

Already disparaged and criticised because it hosts more than 360 Ministers, secretaries of state and under-secretaries of state altogether, the Cambodian government will soon welcome ten new members. On Thursday March 12th, during a brief extraordinary session held at the National Assembly in the presence of rime Minister Hun Sen, 86 out of 87 MPs (one abstention) placed their trust in the newcomers. Among them, Ke Kim Yan, who was removed as Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) commander in chief by a Royal Decree on January 22nd after Hun Sen suggested the proposition, is now appointed “deputy prime Minister in charge of combating drugs”. The high-ranking official is now back in favour and becomes, as announced a week before, the tenth prime Minister of this excessive government. The session was ignored by the two opposition political formations, the Human Rights Party and the one led by Sam Rainsy, who had his parliamentary immunity restored a few days before the vote.

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Hun Sen re-elected as PM - SRP & HRP boycotted the vote

Cambodian PM re-elected

Sep 25, 2008
AFP

Cambodia’s parliament re-elected Hun Sen as prime minister, extending his 23-year grip on power, at a session boycotted by parties disputing the results of the July general election.

Only 94 of the 123 elected members of parliament showed up, and unanimously raised their hands to approve the nomination of the parliament’s president and the new government.

Hun Sen promised before the session his government would use its new five-year term to "accelerate development and push for deep and wide reforms" of the southeast Asian nation.

His Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) took 90 seats in the July 27 election, while the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) received 26 seats.

The royalist parties, Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranariddh Party, picked up two seats each, and the Human Rights Party (HRP) three seats.

SRP and HRP lawmakers did not attended today’s session and have claimed widespread irregularities in the July poll.

The opposition leaders could not be immediately reached for comment.

The CPP’s overwhelming majority in parliament means this year is the first time since 1993, the country has not been left in political deadlock after an election.

The previous general election, in July 2003, led to a year of stalemate as parties wrangled over forming a coalition government.

Hun Sen has a reputation for trampling on human rights to secure power, but a booming economy has bolstered his standing in a country still struggling to lift itself from the ranks of the world’s poorest.