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Thursday, November 23, 2017, 15:48
Cambodia's opposition seats reallocated to minor parties
By Reuters
Thursday, November 23, 2017, 15:48 By Reuters

Cambodians ride motorbikes past the hardquarters of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in Phnom Penh on Oct 6, 2017. (TANG CHHIN SOTHY / AFP)

PHNOM PENH - The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party's (CNRP) 55 parliamentary seats have been redistributed to five minor political parties after the opposition party was disbanded in a treason case last week, an election committee official said on Thursday.

The National Election Committee's Deputy Secretary-General Som Sorida said redistribution of the opposition seats was made based on vote percentages those minor parties received in the national elections in July 2013.

He said the royalist Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh received 41 seats, the League for Democracy Party six, the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party five, the Cambodian Nationality Party two and the Khmer Economic Development Party one.

"However, two parties -- the League for Democracy Party and the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party -- have announced that they will not accept their seats," he told Xinhua.

Sorida added that according to the recently-amended Law on Elections of Members of the National Assembly, when the two parties did not accept their 11 seats, the seats would be reallocated to other political parties in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly consists of 123 seats in which 68 are possessed by Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party.

The Supreme Court ordered on Nov 16 the dissolution of the CNRP and the ban on its 118 senior leaders from politics for five years after its leader Kem Sokha was arrested on Sept 3 and charged with "treason." Kem Sokha, 64, was accused of plotting the overthrow of the government.

The CNRP dissolution left 55 CNRP lawmakers and 5,007 commune councilors lost their positions.  

READ MORE: Cambodian PM says committed to multi-party democracy


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