PhnomPenhPost-Oct 26, 2021
The National Assembly (NA) has unanimously passed draft amendments to several articles of the Constitution aiming to mandate single citizenship for the nation’s top office holders.
Amended during the NA’s plenary session attended by its 111 members on October 25 were articles 19, 82, 106, 119 and 137 of the Constitution and articles 3 and 4 of the Additional Constitutional Law tending to ensure the regular functioning of national institutions. The amendments, if promulgated, will establish a single-citizenship mandate for the prime minister and presidents of the NA, Senate and Constitutional Council. Following the unanimous vote, NA president Heng Samrin and senior government officials took to Facebook to explain the purpose of the proposed changes. “These amendments are not targeting any individuals or groups, rather they are being enacted to serve the interests of the nation and protect the future and destiny of the country,” he said. Prime Minister Hun Sen said in early October that the single-citizenship requirement would not be extended beyond the nation’s top leadership offices, nor would it affect a number of government officials currently in office who were forced to flee abroad during the war or due to the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime who later returned to contribute to the nation’s development. Read more at: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/
