Cambodian Senate resembles French, Indian upper houses in reflecting will of the people

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - As Cambodians prepare to digest the release of the final results in last weekend's Senate elections, they should at least feel comfortable with the knowledge that the body that convened its first meeting in 1999 is one of the more democratic upper houses of parliament in the world today. Final results were due Sunday but have been delayed amid complaints from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

At first glance, the upper house of the Cambodian parliament resembles the Senate in France. But the combination of indirect elections for the majority of senators and the appointment of a small minority makes the Cambodian Senate more like the upper house of parliament in India, widely described as the world's biggest democracy. Interestingly, Myanmar has chosen a similar model for its new upper house of parliament, although the minority appointed (by the military) is proportionally much bigger.

Court has not yet taken action to restore Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - Phnom Penh Municipal Court has not yet take action to restore the parliamentary immunity of opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun said Wednesday.

He said there were many rules to follow to restore parliamentary immunity and suggested that Mu Sochua should read them before filing such a request.

Sam Pracheameanith, chief of cabinet at Ministry of Justice, said he hadn’t seen the file.

Cheam Yeap, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, said the parliament was waiting for a letter from the ministry to discuss the issue even though it is currently in recess.

Mu Sochua lost her immunity after losing a court case against Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2009.

Cambodian Senate background

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - The Senate of Cambodia is the upper house of parliament which performs its duties as determined by the constitution and the law.

After National Assembly elections organized by the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in April, 1993, a Constitutional Assembly was established in June. 

Presided over by King Norodom Sihanouk, chairman of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, it drafted the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia which stipulated that the king ruled according to the constitution and the principles of liberal democracy and pluralism.

Sam Rainsy warned of internal crisis ahead of senate election

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) -  Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy has told party members via video conference that people in France have warned that the party will face an internal crisis if its electoral support declines and that increased support raise concerns for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, senior party officials said Friday.

The officials said Sam Rainsy made the statement in a video conference call from France to party headquarters on Wednesday. During the conference, Sam Rainsy urged members to avoid being bought by other parties, the officials said.

Sam Rainsy is now in France to escape from being jailed as he was sentenced by the Cambodian courts to two years in prison after he uprooted boundary marker 185 in Svay Rieng province.

Senate election campaign ends smoothly

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) -  Cambodia's three-week campaign for Senate elections ended smoothly Friday without any violations until the final day,  National Election Committee (NEC) Secretary General Tep Nitha said.

“We had four complaints and we're resolving those problems,” he said.

Tep Nitha said the situation on election day on Sunday was expected to be normal since the vote is restricted to members of the National Assembly and commune councils.

Young people emerge as most important voters in coming elections

PHNOM PENH, December 21, 2011 (Cambodia Herald) –  With more than nine million people registered to vote in commune and national elections in coming years, young voters have emerged as the most important group for which political parties have to compete.

"Young people aged between 18 and 35 years represent 54 percent of the total registered voters," Tep Nitha, secretary general of the National Election Committee (NEC), told the Cambodia Herald.

"Youth is playing a very important role in political decision making; they are the future of Cambodia," he said.