(Phnom Penh): The Cambodian Constitution clearly stipulates that the king does not exercise governing power and defines the procedures for delegating royal duties to acting head of state when the king is absent from the country or indisposed, according to Suos Yara, Spokesperson for the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

Suos Yara made the clarification on Sunday (Feb. 8) in response to remarks concerning the king’s recent Royal Message.

Speaking at a press conference on the outcomes of bilateral and trilateral meetings among the leaders of Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam, Suos Yara explained that under the Constitutional Law of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the king is the supreme head of state but does not hold executive governing authority. When the king is absent from the country or unable to perform duties, the Constitution mandates that the president of the Senate assumes the role of acting head of state, including the responsibility of receiving visiting foreign heads of state on official visits conducted at the king’s invitation.

“The Throne holds the highest dignity. People must clearly understand the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia,” Suos Yara said. “When the king is absent from the country, the Constitution stipulates that the president of the Senate serves as acting head of state. In that capacity, official receptions of foreign heads of state are conducted within a state-to-state framework and therefore take place at the Royal Palace.”

According to the spokesperson, the Constitution recognizes four principal state institutions: the Senate, the National Assembly, the executive branch led by the prime minister, and the judiciary. In line with this framework, the constitutional responsibility of acting head of state is entrusted to the president of the Senate when the king is absent or indisposed.

At present, Samdech Techo Hun Sen serves as President of the Senate and therefore assumes the role of Acting Head of State or Royal Representative under the Constitution. In this capacity, he receives foreign heads of state visiting Cambodia on official state visits at the King’s invitation.

He added that the recent state visits by To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, and Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, were official state visits conducted at the King Norodom Sihamoni’s invitation. Accordingly, Samdech Techo Hun Sen received the visiting leaders on behalf of the king.

The spokesperson underlined that when the king is indisposed, the king assigns a Royal Representative in accordance with constitutional provisions. Such delegation authorizes the Royal Representative to perform official duties related to state visits and do not affect the king’s position or authority, as all actions are governed by the supreme law of the nation.
=FRESH NEWS