Cambodian PM initiates ban on convicts from leading political party

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Thursday that the ruling party would propose the parliament to amend the Law on Political Parties to ban convicts from serving as president of a party.

"Prisoners will not be allowed to be the president of a political party," the prime minister said in a speech during a university graduation ceremony here.

He said that the proposed amendment would also include a provision that would allow the Constitutional Council to dismantle any political party that its leaders made a "big mistake".

The prime minister said that under the current law, any political party receiving funds from foreign governments would face a fine of only 3 million riel (750 U.S. dollars), but under the proposed amendment, any party found getting funds from foreign countries would be suspended or dissolved.

Hun Sen said the proposed amendment "does not specifically target any political party, but for all."

Currently, Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), has been living in exile in France since November 2015 to avoid a two-year prison sentence over a defamation charge.

In December 2016, a Cambodian court also sentenced, in absentia, him to another five years in prison for conspiring to incite chaos in the country through posting fake documents on his Facebook page.

Cambodia's parliament comprises 123 seats, including 68 for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and 55 for the CNRP.

To amend a law, the parliament needed a 50 percent plus one majority vote, or 63 votes, only. Enditem