Religion: Over 95% of the population are Buddhists. There are small Christian and
Moslem minorities.
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Capital: Phnom Penh
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Legislature: Cambodia has a bicameral legislature, although only one house is elected. The
National Assembly of Cambodia (Radhsphea ney Preah Recheanachakr Kampuchea)
has 122 members, elected for five-year terms by proportional representation. The
Senate (Sénat) has 61 members, appointed by the
king on the recommendation of the parties in the National Assembly.
Electoral authority: The National Election Committee administers elections.
Freedom House 2005 rating: Political Rights 6, Civil Liberties 5
Political history
The once-great Cambodian kingdom was in decline when the French arrived in the 1850s. In 1863
King Norodom asked the French to protect Cambodia from the Thais and the Vietnamese, and the
kingdom became a French protectorate. After the Second World War Cambodia was reluctant to
give up French protection but the kingdom became fully independent in December 1954.
Norodom Sihanouk became King in 1941 at the age of 19. In 1955 he abdicated in order
to become Prime Minister, and he remained effective ruler of Cambodia until 1970,
pursuing a successful policy of neutralism during the Vietnam War. In 1970 he was overthrown by a
group of right-wing officers, who established the Khmer Republic with American support.
Sihanouk in exile formed an alliance with the Cambodian Communists, known as the Khmer
Rouges.
In April 1975 the Khmer Rouges captured Phnom Penh, and imposed a bizarre
regime of primitive communism, which murdered perhaps two million people and starved many
more. Sihanouk was nominally head of state but was in effect a prisoner. In 1978 Vietnam
invaded the country, overthrew the Khmer Rouges and installed a pro-Vietnamese Communist
regime. The
Khmer Rouges continued to resist the Vietnamese until 1991, when an agreement was signed
in Paris to draft a new constitution.
The 1991 settlement created a constitutional monarchy, with Sihanouk as King, with
an elected legislature. Free elections were held in 1993. The monarchist party
FUNCINPEC (United National Front for an
Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia) won the election, but agreed to
share power with the allegedly reformed Communists, the
Cambodian People's Party, led by Hun
Sen.
In 1996, however, Hun Sen forced the FUNCINPEC leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, out
of office, and since then he has established an authoritarian regime behind a facade of
parliamentary rule. He won elections in 1998 and 2003, defeating both FUNCINPEC and
the pro-democracy Sam Rainsy Party. During 2005 the political and human
rights situation deteriorated sharply, with opposition leader Sam Rainsy forced into exile and other opposition
members jailed on trumped-up charges.
Norodom Sihanouk became King in 1941 at the age of 19. In 1955 he abdicated in order to become Prime Minister, and he remained effective ruler of Cambodia until 1970, pursuing a successful policy of neutralism during the Vietnam War. In 1970 he was overthrown by a group of right-wing officers, who established the Khmer Republic with American support. Sihanouk in exile formed an alliance with the Cambodian Communists, known as the Khmer Rouges.
In April 1975 the Khmer Rouges captured Phnom Penh, and imposed a bizarre regime of primitive communism, which murdered perhaps two million people and starved many more. Sihanouk was nominally head of state but was in effect a prisoner. In 1978 Vietnam invaded the country, overthrew the Khmer Rouges and installed a pro-Vietnamese Communist regime. The Khmer Rouges continued to resist the Vietnamese until 1991, when an agreement was signed in Paris to draft a new constitution.
The 1991 settlement created a constitutional monarchy, with Sihanouk as King, with an elected legislature. Free elections were held in 1993. The monarchist party FUNCINPEC (United National Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia) won the election, but agreed to share power with the allegedly reformed Communists, the Cambodian People's Party, led by Hun Sen.
In 1996, however, Hun Sen forced the FUNCINPEC leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, out of office, and since then he has established an authoritarian regime behind a facade of parliamentary rule. He won elections in 1998 and 2003, defeating both FUNCINPEC and the pro-democracy Sam Rainsy Party. During 2005 the political and human rights situation deteriorated sharply, with opposition leader Sam Rainsy forced into exile and other opposition members jailed on trumped-up charges.