The Candlelight Party ( km, គណបក្សភ្លើងទៀន) is a
liberal party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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This is a li ...
in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
. The party was a member of the
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) is a regional organization of liberal democratic political parties in Asia.
Background
The Council was created on 15 October 1993, in a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan. There are nine member partie ...
,
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
, and the
Alliance of Democrats. It is the largest opposition party in Cambodia, and the main challenger to the ruling
Cambodian People's Party
The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979.
Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ...
.
[ The party resumed political activity in October 2021 after being inactive since 2012.
The party, founded in 1995 as the Khmer Nation Party,] renamed the Sam Rainsy Party in 1998, and recently in 2018, it was renamed the Candlelight Party. This party is currently the official opposition to the ruling Cambodian People's Party
The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979.
Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ...
. Since the decline of the junior coalition partner, FUNCINPEC
The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...
, in the 2008 National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
elections, the Candlelight Party is now considered the second largest party and the largest opposition party in Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
. The party won 15 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly in the 1998 elections, 24 seats in the 2003 elections, and 26 seats in the 2008 elections. The CP won two seats in the 2006 Senate elections. In 2009, it formally allied with the Human Rights Party in the Democratic Movement of Change
The Democratic Movement of Change is a Cambodian electoral alliance between the two main democratic opposition parties, the Sam Rainsy Party
The Candlelight Party ( km, គណបក្សភ្លើងទៀន) is a liberal party in Cambodia. ...
.
In 2008, party activist Tuot Saron was arrested on a charge of "being an accomplice to unlawful confinement". International human rights groups including Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
and Amnesty International described the charges as a politically motivated attempt to intimidate other SRP activists. Tuot Saron was released on 26 November 2010, following a Royal Pardon decree.
Election results
General elections
Communal elections
Senate elections
See also
* :Candlelight Party politicians
*Liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
*Contributions to liberal theory
Contribution or Contribute may refer to:
* ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990)
** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album
*Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability
*Contributions, a ...
*Liberalism worldwide
This article gives information on liberalism worldwide. It is an overview of parties that adhere to some form of liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world.
Introduction
The definition of liberal party is highly deba ...
*List of liberal parties
This article gives information on liberalism worldwide. It is an overview of parties that adhere to some form of liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world.
Introduction
The definition of liberal party is highly deba ...
*Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
References
External links
Sam Rainsy Party
official site
1995 establishments in Cambodia
Cambodian democracy movements
Liberal parties in Cambodia
Nationalist parties in Cambodia
Political parties established in 1995
Political parties in Cambodia
{{Liberal-party-stub