CAMBODIA (Kingdom of Cambodia)

Government and society

Constitutional framework

In 1981 the Vietnam-backed communist government in Phnom Penh established a government based on a
new constitution. That government was opposed by three factions that in 1982 formed a coalition
government-in-exile. Though that coalition was unable to rule in Cambodia, it gained international
recognition, held on to Cambodia’s seat at the United Nations (UN), and was able to negotiate with the
Phnom Penh government.

In 1991 the government and opposition groups signed peace accords that provided for the creation of a
new national government. The UN established a transitional authority to oversee the implementation of
the accords, including elections in 1993 that formed a coalition government led by Prince Norodom
Sihanouk. A new constitution was adopted in September that restored the pre-1970 Kingdom of Cambodia,
though now as a constitutional monarchy and a multiparty liberal democracy. Sihanouk immediately
ascended the throne under the new constitution.

Under the constitution, the king, who is the head of state, is chosen from among royal descendants by
the Royal Throne Council. In 2004 King Sihanouk decided to abdicate, and Prince Norodom Sihamoni was
selected to succeed him.

Cambodia’s legislature has been bicameral since 1999, with the directly elected National Assembly as its
lower chamber and the indirectly elected (by commune councillors) Senate as its upper chamber.
Members of the parliament serve five-year terms. Executive power resides with the cabinet, headed by a
prime minister—who is chosen by the king, based on the recommendation of the chairman of the National
Assembly, from the representatives of the party with the largest number of seats in the assembly. The
remaining government ministers are selected from all parties represented in the assembly.

Local government

Local government, at the highest level, consists of provinces and municipalities. Each province (khet) is
headed by a governor and is divided into districts (srok), communes (khum), and villages (phum). Each
municipality (krong) is led by a mayor and is subdivided into sectors (khan) and wards (sangkat). At each
level of local government, a People’s Assembly, composed of representatives elected by popular vote,
chooses a People’s Committee that has formal responsibility within the locality for public
administration and security. Within each province, effective control over the armed forces and security
units, the civil bureaucracy, and tax collection is in the hands of the governor and provincial officials.

Justice

The country has a constitutionally independent judiciary composed of lower courts, an appeals court, and a
Supreme Court. However, the judiciary has been closely allied with Cambodia’s ruling party and often has
been suspected of corruption. A nine-member Constitutional Council determines the constitutionality of
legislation. It also resolves electoral disputes. The Supreme Council of Magistrates appoints
and disciplines judges. There is also a separate military justice system.

Political process
The two most-important political parties in Cambodia are the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the
Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP). The CPP, proclaimed in 1991, is a noncommunist party
descended from the pro-Vietnam and communist Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party that was
founded in 1951. The CPP was long the dominant party in national politics. The CNRP was formed in 2012
through the merger of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and the smaller Human Rights Party (founded 2007). The
SRP, founded in 1995 as the Khmer National Party and renamed in 1998, grew to be the second largest
party and to constitute the official opposition—a role continued by the CNRP. A third party, the United
Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (Funcinpec), is composed of the
royalist supporters of the former king Norodom Sihanouk and his son Prince Ranariddh (although the latter
was removed from the party in 2006). Funcinpec, formerly the second largest party, participated in
governing coalitions with the CPP between 1993 and 2006. It subsequently lost its influence in the national
political scene.

The 1993 constitution provides for universal suffrage for citizens 18 years and older, and all citizens 25
years and older have the right to hold elective office. The number of women holding governmental
positions in either the National Assembly or the civil service was small but increasing.

Security

The king is the commander in chief of the armed forces, called the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF),
which include the army, navy, and air force. The RCAF was created in 1993 through the merger of the
Cambodian government’s military forces and the two noncommunist resistance armies; the Khmer
Rouge and royalist forces were absorbed into the RCAF in 1999. The army is much larger than the other
two branches and is staffed mainly through conscription.

In the early 21st century, Cambodia was at peace, but its proportionally large armed forces imposed an
enormous burden on national resources. The government has tried to reduce the size of its army by
seeking funds from foreign countries to compensate demobilized soldiers, but donors have been reluctant
to make such expenditures at the expense of the projects to rebuild Cambodia’s infrastructure that have
been the main focus of foreign aid.

FACTS:
* Head Of Government - Prime Minister: Hun Sen
* Head Of State - King: Norodom Sihamoni
* Form Of Government - constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses (Senate [621]; National
Assembly [125])
* Cambodia began the process of recovery under the Vietnam-backed regime of the People’s Republic of
Kampuchea (1979–89), and in the 1990s it regained political autonomy, reestablished a constitutional
government, and subsequently instituted free elections. The Cambodian economy has steadily improved,
and the country seems to be living by the words of the Cambodian proverb, "Fear not the future, weep not
for the past."
MYANMAR (Republic of the Union of Myanmar)

Government and society

Administrative framework

Myanmar’s first constitution came into force on Jan. 4, 1974, the 26th anniversary of
the country’s independence, and was suspended following a military coup on Sept. 18, 1988. The country
was subsequently ruled by a military junta, known first as the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) and, between 1997 and 2011, as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

Under the 1974 constitution, supreme power rested with the unicameral People’s Assembly (Pyithu
Hluttaw), a 485-member popularly elected body that exercised legislative, executive, and judicial authority.
The Council of State, which consisted of 29 members (one representative elected from each of the
country’s 14 states and divisions, 14 members elected by the People’s Assembly as a whole, and the prime
minister as an ex officio member), elected its own secretary and its own chairman, who was ex officio
president of the country. The secretary and the president were also, respectively, the secretary-
general and the chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which, under military leadership,
was the only official political party from 1964 to 1988. Civil servants, members of the armed forces,
workers, and peasants belonged to the BSPP, and senior military officials and civil servants were included
in the party’s hierarchy.

After the military took control of the government in 1988, it established the SLORC as the new ruling body,
and all state organs, including the People’s Assembly and the Council of State, were abolished and their
duties assumed by the SLORC. The law designating the BSPP as the only political party also was abolished,
and new parties were encouraged to register for general elections to a new legislative assembly. More
than 90 parties participated in the elections, which were held in May 1990; of these the most important
were the dominant BSPP, which had changed its name to the National Unity Party (NUP), and the main
opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The NLD won some four-fifths of the seats in the new assembly. However, after the NLD’s victory the
SLORC announced that the elections were not actually for a legislative assembly but for
a constituent assembly charged with drafting a new constitution; furthermore, the SLORC did not permit
the assembly to meet. Instead, in 1993 the SLORC convened a National Convention of handpicked
participants—rather than the elected assembly of 1990—to formulate a new constitution. This constituent
assembly met intermittently in 1993–96 and then again from 2004 until early in 2008, when it finally
passed a completed draft constitution. The constitution was put to a popular referendum in May and was
approved, but the document did not to go into effect until Jan. 31, 2011, following elections for a new
parliament that were held in November 2010.

Under the 2008 constitution, legislative authority is vested in a bicameral Assembly of the Union
(Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) consisting of a 224-seat House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw) and a 440-seat
House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw).Three-fourths of the members of each chamber are directly
elected, and the remaining one-fourth are appointed by the military; all members serve five-year terms.
Executive authority, per the constitution, rests with the president, who is elected to a five-year term by
members of the House of Representatives and heads an 11-member National Defense and Security Council
(cabinet). However, it is thought that the military retained some level of influence on the government
behind the scenes after Jan. 31, 2011.

In February 2021 the military seized power by detaining the president, upon which one of the vice
presidents, a former military officer, became acting president and immediately invoked articles 417 and
418 of the constitution: the former allowing him to declare a one-year state of emergency and the latter
allowing him to transfer power to the commander in chief of the armed forces. The legislative houses were
also suspended per article 418. The State Administrative Council, headed by the commander in chief of the
armed forces, was formed to handle the functions of government during the state of emergency.

Local government

Myanmar is divided administratively into seven states largely on the basis of ethnicity—Chin, Kachin, Kayin
(Karen), Kayah, Mon, Rakhine (Arakan), and Shan—and seven more truly administrative divisions of
Myanmar proper—Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy), Magway (Magwe), Mandalay, Bago (Pegu), Sagaing,
Taninthary (Tenasserim), and Yangon. These states and divisions are subdivided further into townships,
urban wards, and village tracts.

Until 1988, at each level of local government there was a People’s Council that followed the pattern of the
People’s Assembly. Every local government council also had an Executive Committee, and all but the village
or ward councils had a Committee of Inspectors. Local and national elections were held simultaneously. In
1988 the SLORC dissolved these bodies and assumed control of local administration, establishing in their
place military-dominated Law and Order Restoration Councils.

Justice

The highest court under the 1974 constitution was the Council of People’s Justices, members of which
were drawn from the People’s Assembly. Every local government council had a Judges’ Committee, which
sat as the local court, exercising criminal and civil jurisdiction. These courts were abolished along with
other government bodies following the coup of 1988, and a nonindependent Supreme Court was
established as the central judicial authority, with justices appointed by the SLORC. Since that time, the
judiciary has remained bound to the executive branch of government. The 2008 constitution has provisions
for the creation of a Constitutional Tribunal of the Union to adjudicate constitutional cases.

Security

Myanmar’s armed forces, which consist of an army, a navy, and an air force, have expanded rapidly—
nearly quadrupling in size—since the mid-20th century. The army is by far the largest and best-equipped of
the three branches, and for a number of years it has borne the chief responsibility for combating armed
insurgency within the country. Volunteers for the armed forces are recruited from throughout the country,
and military service is a prime means of improving socioeconomic status; the military maintains an
extensive education, health, and procurement system for its members and their dependents. The police
force, although armed and equipped and often used as a branch of the army in emergencies, remains
essentially civilian in character and regional in organization.

FACTS:
* In 2005 the government began to shift its administrative centre, first to the city of Pyinmana (some 200
miles [320 km] north of Yangon) and then to Nay Pyi Taw (Naypyidaw), a newly constructed city near
Pyinmana. Nay Pyi Taw was proclaimed the capital of Myanmar in 2006.
* Also Known As - Myanma • Burma • Union of Myanmar • Mranma Prañ
* Head Of State And Government - Prime Minister: Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing2
* Form Of Government - military government
* Official long-form name of the country per the constitution, effective January 31, 2011.
* The military seized power on February 1, 2021. Pres. Win Myint, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and
other members of their National League for Democracy ruling party were detained by the military, and
Vice Pres. Myint Swe (a former general) became acting president. He immediately invoked articles 417 and
418 of the constitution, which allowed him to declare a one-year state of emergency and hand control of
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government to the commander in chief of the armed
forces, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. On February 2 the State Administrative Council was formed, with
Senior Gen. Min as chairman, to govern the country during the state of emergency. On August 1 the State
Administrative Council was replaced by a military-led caretaker government with Senior Gen. Min named
as prime minister, and the state of emergency was extended until August 2023.
* The government promotes Theravada Buddhism over other religions.
LAOS (Lao People’s Democratic Republic)

Government and society

Constitutional framework

Since its establishment in December 1975, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) has been
effectively controlled by the communist Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP). This party, in alliance with
the Vietnamese communists, carried out the revolution that ended in its seizure of power and the abolition
of the monarchy. Top government positions—beginning with the president, who is head of state, and
the prime minister, who is the head of government—are selected from high-ranking party members
who constitute a Central Committee with the Politburo at the head.

The constitution of 1991, which declares the party to be the “leading nucleus” of the political system,
provides for a National Assembly, the members of which are elected to five-year terms. The National
Assembly elects the president and vice president and approves presidential appointments of the prime
minister and members of the cabinet (Council of Ministers). The president and ministers serve five-year
terms.

Local government

The country is divided into some 16 provinces, as well as the Vientiane municipality and the Xaisomboun
special zone; the provinces are subdivided further into districts and villages. Governors of provinces and
the mayor of Vientiane are appointed by the president, and lower-level local administrators, including
deputy provincial governors, deputy mayors, and district chiefs, are named by the prime minister. Villages
are led by village heads. At each level of local government, there are party committees and administrative
committees, often headed by the same individuals. Local administrations have considerable autonomy in
economic matters.

Justice

The judicial system is headed by the People’s Supreme Court, the president of which is elected by the
National Assembly on recommendation of its own Standing Committee. Below the People’s Supreme Court
are provincial, municipal, district, and military courts. Judges for these courts are also appointed by the
Standing Committee of the National Assembly.
Political process

Laos is a communist country, and the only legal political party is the LPRP. Although the party controls all
branches of government, independent candidates have on occasion been elected to the National
Assembly. A handful of groups stand in armed opposition to the communist government, some of them
associated with particular ethnic communities (e.g., the Hmong); others operate from outside the country.
The number of women elected to the National Assembly has been increasing since the 1990s, and, by the
early 21st century, women had become a significant minority in the legislature. Laos has universal adult
suffrage for all citizens who are at least 18
years old.

Security

Laos maintains a small, minimally funded military force consisting almost entirely of the Lao People’s Army,
with a smaller air unit. Military service is compulsory for men from age 15, with conscription lasting a
minimum of 18 months. Internal security measures have been strictly enforced, as the regime fears
political opposition linked to a large exile population and sporadic armed resistance within the country.
Paramilitary self-defense forces vastly outnumber the army.

FACTS:
* Colonization by the French from the late 19th to the mid-20th century infused Laos with a European
cultural element, which intensified throughout the country’s embroilment in World War II and
the Indochina wars, as well as a civil war of its own in the second half of the 20th century. Guided by
Marxist-Leninist ideology, Laos emerged from the turmoil in 1975 as a communist country. Economic
reforms of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the development of tourism, have
strengthened Laos’s economy, gradually shrinking the country’s debt and diminishing its dependence
on international aid.
* Also Known As - Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxôn Lao • Lao People’s Democratic Republic
* Head Of Government - Prime Minister: Sonexay Siphandone
* Head Of State - President: Thongloun Sisoulith
* Form Of Government - unitary single-party people’s republic with one legislative house (National
Assembly [149])
*