Cambodia Opposition Lawmakers Sworn in After Long Boycott

Deal on Power Sharing, Electoral Reforms Reached Last Month

Wall Street Journal | 5 August 2014

Sam Rainsy, center, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, and his lawmakers at a swearing-in ceremony at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. European  Pressphoto Agency

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Politicians from Cambodia's main opposition party were sworn in as lawmakers Tuesday, formally ending their nearly yearlong boycott after striking a deal last month to share power with the government.

Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, led 54 other party members who took their oaths of office at the Royal Palace in the capital, Phnom Penh, in a ceremony that marked an end to the longest political deadlock in Cambodia's history.

The developing Southeast Asian nation had been gripped by a political standoff since elections in July last year, in which Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party retained power but endured their worst electoral performance since 1998. The ruling party secured 68 seats in the 123-member legislature, a 22-seat drop from the previous vote. 

The strong opposition showing marked the biggest political challenge in years to Mr. Hun Sen, who has led Cambodia for nearly three decades.

The Rescue Party initially rejected the official election results and pushed for a fresh vote, a demand dismissed by Cambodia's National Election Committee. The party also staged large protests in Phnom Penh—drawing crowds in the tens of thousands—but to no avail.

Opposition leaders then boycotted the National Assembly when its new session opened in September, in protest against what they said was a rigged election, and to pressure Mr. Hun Sen into pursuing political and electoral reforms. Their absence from parliament, however, has allowed the People's Party to pass a series of new laws unopposed.

The stalemate ended when the ruling People's Party and Rescue Party agreed to introduce reforms for Cambodia's election commission, and struck a deal on sharing leadership positions in the National Assembly.

Both parties also agreed to advance elections by a few months to February 2018, and to appoint a nine-member panel to ensure free and fair elections. The panel will comprise four members from the ruling party, four from opposition parties, and one consensus candidate.