The Cambodian Senate approved amendments to the Law on the Administration and Management of Commune/Sangkat on September 4, 2026, two days after the National Assembly passed them unanimously. The changes alter how positions are apportioned on Cambodia's more than 1,600 local councils and will apply to commune elections scheduled for June 2027.
The amendments modify the distribution of three key council posts: commune chief, first deputy, and second deputy. Under current law, positions are divided among parties that win seats, ensuring multiparty representation. The new formula grants all three positions to any party earning two-thirds of the vote, or the top two positions to any party winning a simple majority.
Human Rights Watch said the changes would drastically reduce opposition influence. Using 2022 election results as a model, the advocacy group calculated that the opposition Candlelight Party would have won only three second-deputy positions across Phnom Penh's 105 communes under the new rules, compared with 87 positions it actually won. In Siem Reap province, Candlelight would have retained 28 second-deputy posts instead of 91 positions won previously.
Cambodia's National Assembly is dominated by the Cambodian People's Party, which has controlled the country since the Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition party in November 2017. The Candlelight Party was barred from the 2023 national elections on what it characterized as administrative grounds.
Commune councilors hold broad authority, including issuing identity documents, maintaining local security, and managing budgets. Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, argued that the amendments, combined with other government measures, "appear aimed at eliminating opposition influence and cementing one-party rule at the local level."
