Editor TLN
The changes have already been approved by the Government and will soon be examined by Parliament. They focus on article 19 of the Constitution. Parliamentarians from the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights are opposed. The prime minister wants to get to the 2023 elections without any opposition.
Phnom Penh () – The Cambodian government’s proposal to amend the national Constitution is raising alarm not only inside the country, which has been under the semi-dictatorial control of Prime Minister Hun Sen for 37 years. The announced victory of his Cambodian People’s Party in local elections in June was preceded by the disappearance of the opposition. And this has fueled his desire to retain power for much longer.
What arouses the greatest concern is the modification of article 19 of the Constitutional Charter, regarding the appointment of the head of government. In its current form, the article establishes that it is the National Assembly that elects a prime minister from the party that wins the elections. However, with the proposed changes, it is enough to propose to the “king” a candidate from the majority party, which would avoid parliamentary debate on the suitability of the future prime minister. With this move, an attempt is made to pave the way for Hun Sen’s son, Hun Manet, to take office.
The dissenting voices were also joined by parliamentarians from Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), an organization committed, among other things, to monitoring the situation of democracy and human rights in Cambodia. APHR and other civil society groups see the move as “a death sentence for democracy” and aimed at depriving the Cambodian parliament of any function.
APHR’s line was clearly stated by Kasit Piromya, a former Thai foreign minister and deputy in his country, who is now on the humanitarian organization’s board of directors: “The Cambodian government claims that the changes were proposed to ensure a government that works, but many of them are actually designed to cement the power of Hun Sen and his allies, giving more power to the executive, at the expense of the legislature. Kasit explains that “if confirmed, it would be Hun Sen’s umpteenth move to undermine democratic processes and the rights of millions of Cambodians. He just wants to continue to enrich his family and others who have benefited from rampant corruption under the government of the”.
Other changes include the power for the prime minister to appoint an interim prime minister or increase the number of deputies needed – from 30 to 42 – to propose a motion of no confidence against the prime minister. Today, the People’s Party of Cambodia has 125 seats. As for the opposition, the Cambodian National Salvation Party was dissolved in 2017 after a case mounted with false accusations. If the changes are approved in parliament, the current government will go into the 2023 general election with no real threat to Hun Sen or his heir apparent.
