Phnom Penh City Hall is planning to create five new districts in the capital in the lead-up to the elections for district, city and provincial councils in May, municipal spokesman Long Dimanche said Sunday.
Mr. Dimanche said that City Hall had not yet decided on the details of the plans, and that experts hired by the municipality were still deciding which areas of the city would be selected for new districts.
“I know only that the new districts will be created in May before the council elections next year,” he said.
Commune councilors around the country will vote on May 18 to fill the executive councils of district, city and provincial-level administrations for the next five years.
Mr. Dimanche said that officials from the Ministry of Interior had last week called a meeting at City Hall to ask municipal officials to create the new districts before the election.
He reiterated, however, that names for the five new districts had not been selected, and that no information was available on which existing districts would be partitioned.
“We are studying the circumstances in each district before we cut them to make new ones,” he said.
Phnom Penh deputy municipal governor Khuong Sreng declined to comment on the issue.
Phnom Penh currently has nine districts, with the smaller Tuol Kok, Daun Penh, Prampi Makara and Chamkar Mon districts making up the city’s center.
The larger Russei Keo, Sen Sok, Pur Senchey, Dangkao and Meanchey districts surround the city center to form greater Phnom Penh.
Tuol Kok deputy governor Pich Keo Mony said that he had not yet received notification of whether his district would be redrawn, but said that he approved of the idea.
He said that district administrations would operate more efficiently with fewer people under the purview of each.
“I think that it will be easier to keep security and provide services to people,” said Mr. Keo Mony.
