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Cambodia

Monthly Event Reports

February 2024 | Cambodia holds senatorial elections
Election flag

Cambodia held elections for the upper house of parliament on 25 February. Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won 55 of 58 contested seats, down from 58 seats in the previous parliament (four additional seats are appointed, two by the King and two by the National Assembly). Khmer Will, which is running as a proxy for the unregistered opposition Candlelight Party, won the remaining three seats. The election was open to elected officials and local councillors, and the Capital-Provincial Election Commission reported 99.86 percent turnout. Gender representation data in the new Senate was not available. Former prime minister Hun Sen is expected to be elected president of the Senate when it convenes.

July 2023 | Hun Sen wins fraudulent election and ‘steps aside’

Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party declared victory in National Assembly elections held on 23 July, winning 120 of 125 seats in a stage-managed contest which was held to be neither free nor fair by opposition, election observers, and foreign diplomats. The main opposition Candlelight Party was disqualified in May, and other key opposition figures had been systematically forced into exile or imprisoned on trumped-up charges in recent years. On 26 July, Prime Minister Hun made the expected announcement that he would resign in August and hand over power to his son, Hun Manet, but promised “even if I am no longer a prime minister, I will still control politics as the head of the ruling party.” Women’s representation in the new parliament is 10.4 per cent, down from 20.8 per cent previously and the lowest in twenty years.

June 2023 | Future candidates must vote now, parliament says

Cambodia’s parliament amended an electoral law on 23 June to bar anyone who does not vote in the 23 July general election from running for future office. Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party will be running essentially unopposed in the upcoming election, as a long-running campaign of intimidation has left nearly all political opponents exiled or in jail, and the sole opposition party, the Candlelight Party, was disqualified in May 2023.

May 2023 | Candlelight Party excluded from July national elections

The main opposition party, the Candlelight Party (CLP), was disqualified from competing in July’s national election. Cambodia’s National Election Committee (NEC) refused to accept the CLP application for July polls because it didn’t include a notarized copy of the party’s registration document. The decision was then confirmed by the Constitutional Council, which rejected CPL’s appeal against NEC's ruling. The CLP, which captured around 22 percent of the popular vote at commune elections in 2022, was seen as the only party challenging the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). As the main opposition party, the CLP has faced constant intimidation and pressure, including politically motivated lawsuits and violent attacks on opposition activists and supporters. Analysts and human rights groups argue that CLP exclusion guarantees CPP and its current leader, Hun Sen, victory in what will be elections that are neither free nor fair. 

Explore past monthly event reports

GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
16 946 450
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Hun Sen (since 1985)
Head of government party
Cambodian People's Party (CPP)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
20.8%
Women in upper chamber
16.1%
Last legislative election
2018
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.29
Head of state
King Norodom Sihamoni
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
30/01/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
92.02%
Population Tooltip
16 946 450
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Hun Sen (since 1985)
Head of government party
Cambodian People's Party (CPP)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
20.8%
Women in upper chamber
16.1%
Last legislative election
2018
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.29
Head of state
King Norodom Sihamoni
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
30/01/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
92.02%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
Signatory
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

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