The National Assembly ( km, រដ្ឋសភា, ) is one of the two houses (chambers) of the

Parliament of Cambodia The Parliament of Cambodia ( km, សភាតំណាងរាស្ត្រ, ) is the bicameral legislature of the Cambodia consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly. The parliament is composed of 187 members, 125 MPs and 62 senators ...

. It is referred to as the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

, with the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

being referred to as the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

. The National Assembly is an elected body consisting of 125 members known as

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MPs). Members are elected for five-year terms by

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...

, using provinces as constituencies of 1 to 18 members, and the

D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...

of seat distribution. A political party must secure 63 seats to obtain and preserve a majority. The National Assembly is headed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, currently Heng Samrin. The sixth National Assembly was inaugurated on 6 September 2018, and presided by King Norodom Sihamoni.

History

6th National Assembly of Cambodia official portrait

The current National Assembly originated as the Constituent Assembly, a legislative body elected during the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). After the 1993 election, the Assembly met and adopted a new constitution for Cambodia. After enactment of the 1993 Constitution, the Constituent Assembly was renamed the National Assembly. * Cambodia held its first elections in history on 1 September 1946. The Democrats won a majority of seats in the legislature. * Cambodia was proclaimed a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

on 6 May 1947.

Qualification

The qualifications to be a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

for the National Assembly are outlined in Article 76 of the 1993 Constitution. * The candidate must be a citizen of

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 Thailand t ...

by birth only. * The citizen must be at the age of twenty-five or older on Election Day. * The candidate must be on the

electoral register An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...

Power and privileges

Law Adoption * Adopt and Amend laws for Cambodia and approve the national budget and administration accounts. (Article 90) * Approve or repeal international treaties and conventions. (Article 90) * Initiate legislation. (Article 91) Vote of confidence * Shall pass a vote of confidence in the Royal Government. (Article 90) * Dismiss any members of the Council of Ministers, or the Royal Government, by a motion of censure passed by an absolute majority vote of all Members of the National Assembly. (Article 98) Oversight * Shall have the right to propose questions to the Royal Government. The replies by the ministers or by the Prime Minister may be given orally or in writing. The replies shall be provided within seven days after the day the question is received. (Article 96) * Oversee royal government performance and invite high-ranking officials to clarify important special issues to the National Assembly. (Article 89) * The commissions of the National Assembly may invite any minister to clarify issues in fields under his/her responsibility. (Article 97) * Oversee the law enforcement. Representative * The Members of the National Assembly shall represent all the Khmer people, not only citizens from their constituencies. (Article 77) * Play an important role in helping citizens have their voice in society and to bring people’s concern and needs for decisions to the National Assembly. * Intervene and solve problems faced by citizens. * Member of Parliament have the right to express opinions in the exercise of his/her duties protected by “Parliamentary Immunity” and shall not be prosecuted, detained or arrested because of opinions expressed in the exercise of his/her duties, except in case of flagrante delicto offences. (Article 80)

Commissions

Composition

Elections

''See most recent election at:

2018 Cambodian general election General elections were held in Cambodia on Sunday, 29 July 2018 to elect members of the sixth National Assembly. Polling stations opened at 07:00 ( ICT) and closed at 15:00. The number of registered voters has decreased for the first time since ...

References

External links

National Assembly Homepage (in Khmer)

{{Authority control 1993 establishments in Cambodia

Parliament of Cambodia