Alliance Party Leaders Meet U.S. Officials in D.C.

September 12, 2003

September 8 - 10 - Prince Norodom Sirivudh and Sam Rainsy were in Washington, DC to discuss the results of the July 27 National Assembly elections and Cambodia's political future. Prince Sirivudh is general secretary of the royalist Funcinpec party and Sam Rainsy is president of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the main democratic opposition party in Cambodia. In late August the SRP and Funcinpec formed The Alliance of Democrats, a joint effort to become part of a coalition government.

Cambodia's National Assembly will convene at the end of September to form the next government. Cambodia's constitution requires a two-third majority of the seats in the National Assembly to form a government. No political party met this threshold in the recent July elections. The Alliance is calling for a coalition government made up of the Cambodian People's Party, Funcinpec and the SRP. They have also asked for a different CPP leader to take the place of current Prime Minister Hun Sen as a condition of forming the coalition.

In a series of meetings organized by IRI, Prince Sirivudh and Sam Rainsy met with Senators John McCain (R-AZ), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), and Jim Leach (R-IA). They also met with administration officials and NGO leaders.

On September 10, IRI hosted a luncheon at which Prince Sirivudh and Sam Rainsy discussed the recent elections, their strategy for forming a coalition government, and the future of democracy in Cambodia. The luncheon was attended by over 60 guests including representatives from NED, USAID, and many NGOs.

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