President of the National Assembly Khuon Sudary calls for votes on the Constitutional Council’s membership on August 31. NA
The new National Assembly (NA) of Cambodia held its first session on the morning of August 31, successfully concluding both of its two agenda items.
The meeting was presided over by newly elected NA president Khuon Sudary, with total of 87 lawmakers in attendance, including former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is now a lawmaker for Kandal province, according to a NA’s General Secretariat statement on the outcome of the session.
The first item of business validated 29 new lawmakers. They have replaced lawmakers who requested to relinquish their positions in order to take up other posts.
The second item on the agenda saw Youk Ngoy, secretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, elected as a member of the Constitutional Council. He now occupies the position held by his predecessor Sam Promanea, who recently passed away.
The General Secretariat announced that the first session was adjourned, and will continue later due to the fact that there are no current agenda items which require debate before a decision is made.
“We are yet to have an agenda that needs discussion and approval, but we successfully held the first meeting of the seventh legislature,” said Sudary.
Seun Sam, policies researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, commented on the 29 new appointments.
He explained that the Constitution clearly stipulates the roles of elected lawmakers. Lawmakers are from political parties, so they must respect the party line.
“Another important thing is that lawmakers must be aware of the needs of the people, and understand what problems and challenges they are encountering. Lawmakers should come up with ways and means to find solutions,” he added.
He believed that if lawmakers distance themselves from the people, they will not be aware of the genuine needs of the public, and will not be able to serve them, or win their approval in elections.
“Such lawmakers are neither capable nor efficient. We all know that we are living in the technology age. Rural people have smarthphones and follow social developments and events. Lawmakers and politicians should also use them to do so,” he said.
He added that if lawmakers are dedicated to performing their tasks and serving society and the people, they must make sure they are aware of people’s challenges and concerns. As long as they work honestly to solve the public’s problems, then the people will continue to support them at the next elections.
