Hun Sen criticizes proposed referendum to select new king

0 Comments | Asian Political News, August 19, 2002

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 16 Kyodo

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday criticized an initiative to hold a referendum for selecting a new king after the death of King Norodom Sihanouk.

''Any initiative proposing the selection of a new king by the people is abnormal and should be reexamined thoroughly,'' Hun Sen said at a religious ceremony in Phnom Penh.

He was referring to a proposal to hold a referendum to select a new king made Saturday by one of the king's sons at a public forum.

''The king shall be selected by the Throne Council while a president applicable in a republic regime is selected by the people,'' he said.

The forum opened Saturday to debate legislation establishing the Throne Council charged with choosing the king's successor.

The forum was chaired by Julio Jeldres, King Sihanouk's biographer, Prince Norodom Chakrapong, son of King Sihanouk, Son Chhay, a lawmaker drafting the legislation, and Chea Vannath, president of the Center for Social Development.

Prince Chakrapong, touted as a possible successor, proposed choosing a successor through a referendum rather than leaving the decision to the Throne Council to avoid political influence.

Cambodia's royal succession is not hereditary, and King Sihanouk has no power to appoint a successor. Under the 1993 Constitution, the new king shall be chosen by the council within seven days after the king's death.

But the Constitution does not spell out the formalities for selecting a successor.

The Throne Council consists of nine members -- the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, the prime minister, leaders of the country's two largest religious sects and the first and second vice presidents of the two chambers.

Hun Sen, meanwhile, voiced concern that the forum will create a bad image for the king, who is undergoing a medical checkup in Beijing this week.

The 79-year-old monarch has suffered a variety of ailments including diabetes and eye cataracts.

In the long-standing succession issue, candidates who have been named are Prince Sihamoni, currently ambassador to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Prince Ranariddh, head of the FUNCINPEC party and president of the National Assembly, Queen Monineath Sihanouk, Prince Sirivudh, the half-brother of the king, and Prince Chakrapong, who is now a president of local Royal Phnom Penh Airways.

Constitutionally, the king of Cambodia must be at least 30 and a member of the royal family and descended from King Ang Duong, King Norodom or King Sisowath, and should be a man.