New Parties to Register

As Cambodia inches closer to the 2017 commune elections, the Interior Ministry has implored all of the Kingdom’s political parties to get their affairs in order and finish the necessary paperwork so their organization is listed on the ballot. In an announcement sent out last Friday, the ministry said that of the 67 political parties in Cambodia, 44 had registered with the Interior Ministry, leaving 23 parties left to finish the forms needed to register, according to Chapter 5, article 20, of the constitution.

“In order to have the legal right to compete in the upcoming commune election and national elections in 2017 and 2018, the ministry would like to remind all the heads of the political parties who have already requested to create their parties and intended to act, please, rush to complete the forms and terms and conditions as stipulated in the law,” the announcement said. The law on political parties states that every party must have at least 80 permanent Cambodian nationals above the age of 18 as members. Each party must have a list of names, addresses and thumbprints of party members, as well as thumbprints from 4,000 supporters – not necessarily members – before they can register to participate in an election.

The application must also have an address for the party headquarters as well as the background of at least three of the party’s leaders and photos. Grassroots Democratic Party leader Sam Inn said his party was deep into the process of collecting the 4,000 thumbprints ahead of their registration.

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