With National Assembly President Heng Samrin attending a conference in Laos, CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha on Wednesday hosted his first official foreign visit since becoming first vice president of parliament in late August.
Mr. Sokha met with Tom Dodd, head of the Asean department in the U.K.’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, at the National Assembly to discuss the country’s political situation since the opposition ended its boycott of parliament following a deal struck between the CPP and CNRP on July 22, according to opposition spokesman Yim Sovann.
“Mr. Tom Dodd spoke highly of the opposition’s resistance, which has played a crucial role in holding the government accountable,” Mr. Sovann said, referring to the CNRP’s 10-month-long assembly boycott following last year’s national election, which the opposition says was rigged in favor of the CPP.
Mr. Sovann said that Mr. Dodd also encouraged the CNRP’s plan to start calling government ministers into parliament for questioning. Last week, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned Mr. Sokha that continued public criticism of ministers could provoke the CPP’s majority of lawmakers to vote him out of his position as vice president of parliament.
“In the U.K….all of the ministers of the British government were called to answer to questions put to them by the opposition, meaning they were called for debate, face-to-face, abiding by the Constitution and the law,” Mr. Sovann said.
