Cambodia’s political system

For more than three decades Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and Hun Sen have dominated Cambodia’s political system. While semi-competitive elections have been conducted in the past, polls are now held in an extremely repressive environment. The CPP-led government has sustained pressure on the opposition, independent media outlets, and demonstrators with intimidation, politically driven prosecutions, and violence. Hun Manet succeeded his father, Hun Sen, as PM in the year 2023, though the former PM still wields substantial influence.

King Norodom Sihamoni is head of state but has little political power. The prime minister heads the government. Monarch appoints the PM from among the majority coalition or party in the parliament following legislative elections. Hun Sen, who first became PM way back in 1985, handed over power to his son, Hun Manet, after the uncompetitive elections held in July 2023. Hun Manet was officially named PM in August.

The bicameral parliament consists of the 125-seat National Assembly and the 62-seat Senate. 58 senators are indirectly elected by commune councils, and the king and National Assembly appoint 2 each. Senators serve six-year terms. Members of National Assembly are directly elected to five-year terms by Cambodian citizens.

The July 2023 parliamentary elections were not free and fair. The CPP won 120 of 125 National Assembly seats, and the remaining 5 were won by Funcinpec (the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Co-operative Cambodia), a royalist party. In May the opposition Candlelight Party and the KUGNP were debarred from participating. Apart from the CPP, 17 other parties participated in elections, though many of these were believed to have been propped up by government allies to suggest multiparty competition. The CPP also spread disinformation on Facebook to facilitate its campaign.

Election laws allow security forces to take part in campaigns, mandate a 21-day campaign period, and punish parties that boycott the parliament. The laws have been broadly implemented. In June 2023, the National Assembly amended the electoral law effectually debarring anyone boycotting the July elections from running for office. Under the amendment, Cambodians must have voted in the two polls prior to their own candidacy.

While the opposition was represented on the National Election Committee (NEC) in the 2010s, since then the Cambodian People’s Party placed more of its members into the NEC’s seats and wielded more explicit control over the committee. In May 2023, the NEC barred KUGNP and the Candlelight Party from contesting the July elections, citing problems with their paperwork. The NEC seated in December included four members of Funcinpec, but the chairman was a CPP member.