Phnom Penh, Nov 05: Cambodia's three main political parties today agreed to form a coalition government with Prime Minister Hun Sen as leader, ending a three-month stalemate after July elections. The agreement was forged at a meeting of the parties' leaders today called by the nation's highly respected monarch, King Norodom Sihanouk, who insisted they end the damaging impasse.
Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) was first past the post in the ballot, but failed to win the two-thirds majority it needed to govern in its own right.
The Royalist Funcinpec and the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) had refused to join a coalition with the CPP and instead formed an "alliance of democrats" to push for a three-party government without Hun Sen as leader.
"The three parties were previously confronting each other but today they finally agreed together for the benefit of the country and nation," Hun Sen's adviser Om Yentieng said.
SRP spokesman Ong Bun Ang confirmed they had made a broad agreement for Hun Sen to lead a three-party coalition but that the details of the new administration still had to be ironed out.
"The agreement this morning is that there will be a tripartite government. We are very happy," he told reporters. "We still have many things to work on and settle."
Under the deal, Funcinpec leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh will be president of the National Assembly, flanked by three deputies, including two from CPP and one from SRP. Bureau Report