At Stake in this Election: 

• All 125 seats in the Cambodian National Assembly 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: King Norodom SIHAMONI (since 29 October 2004) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister HUN Sen (since 14 January 1985) 

• Assembly: bicameral Parliament (សភាតំណាងរាស្ត្) including a 62-seat Senate (ព្រឹទ្ធសភា) and a 125-seat National Assembly (រដ្ឋសភា) 

Electoral System:  

• The King is appointed by the Royal Council of the Throne out of all eligible men in the royal family. 

• The Prime Minister is nominated by the Chairman of the National Assembly from among the majority party and confirmed by the King. 

• In the Senate, 58 members are indirectly elected by commune councils. An additional 2 members are indirectly elected by the National Assembly, and 2 members are appointed by the King. All members serve 6-year terms. 

• In the National Assembly, all 125 members are directly elected by proportional representation vote from multi-seat constituencies. All members serve 5-year terms.  

Last Election: 

In 2018, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won all 125 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 76%. 

New/Unique in this Election:  

As of 2023, political parties are required to receive a registration certificate from the Ministry of the Interior before registering for elections. The Candlelight Party, the largest and most popular opposition party, was barred from the National Assembly election for not submitting the registration certificate. Furthermore, Parliament passed a law that will prevent those who do not vote from running in future elections. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 8 May 2023 

• Voter registration deadline: 21 February 2023 

Main Candidates in this Election: 

• Cambodian People’s Party / គណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា (CPP) 

• Leader: HUN Sen 

• Seats won in last election: 125 out of 125 

• 17 small parties are also participating. 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 16,891,245 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 9,710,655 (2023 est.)  

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 8,706,827 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 October 1980, Ratified 15 October 1992 

• Gender Quota: No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 26 out of 125 (20.8%) in the National Assembly and 10 out of 62 in the Senate (16.1%) 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.593, Medium, Rank: 146 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 21.7 (2023)  

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 1 October 2007, Ratified 20 December 2012 

• Projected population with a disability: 2,533,687 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Cambodia: Yes, programming 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 1 judgment and 9 resources