Cambodian parliament opens without presence of two major parties

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, September 27, 2003

Cambodian parliament opens without presence of two major parties

The first session of Cambodia's newly-formed National Assembly opened Saturday in Phnom Penh with the Cambodian People Party (CPP) as the only party present at the opening ceremony.

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The first session of Cambodia's newly-formed National Assembly opened Saturday in Phnom Penh with the Cambodian People Party (CPP) as the only party present at the opening ceremony.

The royalist FUNCINPEC party and the opposition Sam Rainsy Party(SRP) sticked to their boycott to protest over the results ofthe July 27 election.

"Today is the last day to convene the new parliament session under the Constitution, and to ask delaying the session is unreasonable and unacceptable," CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith toldreporters before the session.

Late Friday, the Alliance of Democrats, which was formed by FUNCINPEC and the SRP, sent a letter to the King Norodom Sihanouk,agreeing to take part in the Assembly's first session, but demanding the meeting to be postponed until after Saturday.

The opening session was presided over by Senate President Chea Sim, who is also the CPP's president.

Under the Constitution, the King must convene the legislature in 60 days after the July 27 election. But he has refused to preside over the ceremony because of the boycott by the SRP, and FUNCINPEC, which is headed by his son Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

Tight security precautions are in place for the ceremony. Several hundred security officers are on standby, equipped with explosive detectors to prevent any disruption to the event. Even the members of the national guard of honor received a body search before they entered the Assembly.

In the July 27's election, the CPP won 73 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly more than FUNCINPEC's 26 seats and the SRP's24, but still nine seats short to govern alone.

FUNCINPEC and the SRP formed a Alliance of Democrats aimed at denying Hun Sen's victory and establishing a tripartite governmentwithout Hun Sen as premier.

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