CPP: No Changes Made to the Preliminary List of Gov’t Officials

As of Thursday, the ruling CPP has not made any changes to the preliminary list of officials that will compose the next government, a senior CPP official said. 

In a July 29 preliminary list distributed to the media last month, the CPP revealed that they intended to replace all Funcinpec ministers and add a number of senior officials to the government.

According to lawmaker Cheam Yeap, who is a member of the CPP’s standing committee, the ruling party has just recently approved a new list of appointees that is identical to the one drafted July 29, just two days after the election.

“There is nothing that has chang­ed,” Cheam Yeap said, though he declined to reveal exactly when the party gave this initial approval to the preliminary list. He added that the list will be formally approved Sept 22, two days ahead of the first meeting of the next National As­sembly, and that there is the possibility that changes could be made between now and then.

The July 29 list primarily consisted of CPP appointees with only five Funcinpec appointees at the deputy prime minister and senior minister levels.

Cheam Yeap said that the next government will only have “more than 10” Funcinpec senior officials and reaffirmed that the mercurial Norodom Ranariddh Party will not be part of the new government. He added however that the NRP’s two lawmakers will have seats on two of the National Assembly’s nine commissions.

Cheam Yeap’s announcement that Funcinpec will be receiving so few positions seems to dash some of the hopes of the junior party in government. Funcinpec Secretary-General Nhiek Bun Chhay said Thursday that he had submitted nominees for one secretary of state position and one undersecretary of state position in each ministry.

That would amount to a total of 57 Funcinpec appointees if one in­cludes the Council of Ministers—far short of the “more than 10” that Cheam Yeap said the ruling party would give their royalist partner.

Related Stories

Latest News