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Cambodian parliament fires opposition vice president Kem Sokha from parliament's 1st vice president

Xinhua, October 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

The National Assembly voted on Friday to remove opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) vice president Kem Sokha from the post of the parliament's first vice president after a proposal from a majority of the lawmakers.

All 68 lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), including Prime Minister Hun Sen, voted to remove him during a parliamentary session as all 55 CNRP lawmakers boycotted the session.

"I would like to announce that Kem Sokha was removed from the post of the National Assembly's first vice president successfully by the National Assembly," National Assembly president Heng Samrin said after the confidential vote.

He said the vote was made at the request of 63 lawmakers.

On Monday, thousands of protesters, loyal to the CPP, also rallied outside the parliament to urge Kem Sokha to resign from the post of the parliament's first vice president. They accused Kem Sokha of inciting unrest and racial hatred.

Kem Sokha has become the parliament's first vice president after the ruling CPP and the opposition CNRP struck a political agreement on July 22, 2014. Under the deal, the CNRP ended its 10-month long boycott of the parliament following the disputed 2013 elections in exchange for parliamentary power sharing and electoral reform.

In the elections, the CPP won 68 parliamentary seats against 55 seats for the CNRP in the 123-seat parliament. Endit