New Government Prepares To Swear In

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 September 2008

The National Assembly secretariat began preparations for a swearing-in ceremony to be held later this month for incoming parliamentarians, following the official announcement of election results Tuesday.

The National Assembly meeting, slated for Sept. 24, will pave the way for the selection of the National Assembly president and the prime minister, as well as the chairmen of nine commissions of the Assembly and the passage of the internal rules.

"We are being very careful about the security system, especially limiting the passage for National Assembly staff, parliamentarians and for the leadership and the king," Leng Penglong, secretary-general of the National Assembly, told VOA Khmer.

King Norodom Sihamoni will preside over the ceremony.

National Assembly security will guard within the grounds of the building, while the Ministry of Interior will be tasked with securing the area outside the compound, Leng Penglong said.

The ceremony will also include invitations to distinguished guests, including embassy representatives and international agencies, he said.

The National Election Committee announced official election results Tuesday, giving 90 of 123 National Assembly seats to the ruling Cambodian People's Party, 26 to the Sam Rainsy Party, three to the Human Rights Party, and two each to Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranariddh Party.

Opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha said members of their parties will boycott the swearing-in ceremony, in an attempt to continue their complaints of voter fraud to the international community.

Sam Rainsy plans to leave for Paris on Wednesday, followed by Kem Sokha, who will leave for France on Thursday. The two will travel together to Brussels, New York and Washington DC, carrying claims that July's national election was not free and fair.

On King's Return, Heavy Election Duty

King Norodom Sihamoni will preside over a swearing-in ceremony that the opposition has threatened to boycott. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

As King Norodom Sihamoni returned from the Beijing Olympics Friday, he was scheduled for key election functions, but opposition officials said they would ask him to delay a swearing-in ceremony for the formation of the new government.

Opposition leaders are maintaining a boycott of July's election results, claiming widespread fraud undermined free and fair elections.

Their complaints of fraud were dismissed by the National Election Committee, but they have appealed to the Constitutional Council. Ruling party officials say the opposition risks losing its seats if it maintains the boycott.

"The opposition still has a strong stance against the election results and requests a revote, because of many irregularities," Kong Kom, Sam Rainsy Party vice president, said. "If the king invites [new government members] to join the swearing-in ceremony…we will deny. But we request the king to reschedule the swearing-in ceremony on another day, until the National Election Committee, Constitutional Council and the international community recognize the election as free and fair."

A denial of the king's invitation by the opposition would invite "political assassination," Nguon Nhel, Cambodian People's Party senior official, told VOA Khmer Friday.

"If the opposition denies the king's invitation…the opposition looks down on the king and breaks the constitution," Nguon Nhel said. "The presence of the king and the majority win of the CPP will disqualify the opposition boycott."

Lao Monghay, a senior researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission, said the king could face a complication on his return from Beijing.

"The king also has much concern about the boycott," he said. "I don't have hope the king can solve the problem, because the king has limited political experience to administer the state. But the CPP's big win, if it will use its potential power over the king, maybe it will ask the king to take action as stated in the constitution, which will be difficult for the king to deny."

Meanwhile, King Sihamoni will also need to address a request by the Norodom Ranariddh Party to pardon the prince, who remains in exile following sentencing over breach of trust.

"The pardon is not a priority," Lao Monghay said. "But the opening of the new National Assembly is the priority."