Cambodian PM welcomes opposition lawmakers' return to parliament
Xinhua, December 16, 2015 Adjust font size:
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday welcomed the return of opposition party lawmakers to the parliament after they had boycotted it since October in response to an assault on two of their lawmakers.
The prime minister wrote on his official Facebook page that he "always welcomes the participation of the opposition party for the sake of political stability, peace and national development".
He said the return of opposition lawmakers to the parliament "clearly reflects the democratic process in Cambodia".
Thirty-four opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmakers led by the party's vice president Kem Sokha joined 67 ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) lawmakers to debate and pass three draft laws during a plenary session on Wednesday morning.
The return of CNRP lawmakers to the parliament came after talks between Kem Sokha and CPP vice president Sar Kheng on Thursday last week and the two sides vowed to continue strengthening the culture of dialogue.
They also agreed to continue to solve the remaining issues based on the spirit of national unification and reconciliation in accordance with the principle of multi-party liberal democracy and the rule of law.
The parliament is comprised of 123 seats, including 68 from the CPP and 55 from the CNRP. Enditem