The Cambodian People's Party (CPP; ) is a political party in Cambodia which has ruled the country since 1979. Founded in 1979, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP).
During the Cold War CPP allied itself with Vietnam and the Soviet Union, in contrast to the pro-Chinese Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) led by Pol Pot. After toppling the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea regime with the Vietnamese-backed liberation of Phnom Penh, it became the ruling party of the People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979–1989), which was later renamed the State of Cambodia (1989–1991). The party's current name was adopted during the final year of the State of Cambodia, when the party abandoned the one-party system and Marxism–Leninism.
Originally rooted in communist and Marxist–Leninist ideologies, the party took on a more reformist outlook in the mid-1980s under Heng Samrin. In 1991, the CPP officially dropped its commitment to socialism, and has since embraced a mixed economy. Along with some major parties of the European centre-right, the CPP is a member of the Centrist Democrat International. CPP presents itself as a big tent of supporters of the Prime Minister Hun Sen, and after him his son Hun Manet. Nevertheless, the party met with the Socialist International in 2004 and remains a close ally of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The CPP claims an official membership of more than 7 million members, making it one of the largest political parties in the world.
The party's rule has been described as authoritarian.
History
Forerunner organizations and early history Nationalists in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos held the belief that to successfully liberate themselves from France they needed to work together; the nationalists formed the supranational Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) to oppose the French in 1930.
However, the triumph of the Japanese during the early stage of World War II crippled French rule and helped to nurture nationalism in all three Indochinese countries. Consequently, the idea of an Indochinese-wide party was submerged in the rhetoric of fierce nationalism. In Cambodia, growing nationalist sentiment and national pride married historical mistrust and fear of neighbouring countries, which turned out to be a stumbling block for the ICP. On 28 June 1951, the Cambodian nationalists who struggled to free Cambodia from French colonial rule split from the ICP to form the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP).
In 1955, the KPRP established a subsidiary party named the Pracheachon in order to run in the national election that year. The name of the party was changed to the Workers' Party of Kampuchea (WPK) on 28 September 1960 and then to the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) in 1966. Members of the CPK moved the party's headquarters to Ratanakiri Province, where they were termed "Khmer Rouge" by Prince Norodom Sihanouk.
Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (1979–1991)
In 5 January 1979, the Cambodian communists who overthrew the Khmer Rouge's regime to end the genocide held a congress and established the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party. At this gathering, they declared themselves the true successors of the original KPRP founded in 1951 and labelled the congress as the Third Party Congress, thus not recognizing the 1963, 1975 and 1978 congresses of CPK as legitimate. The party considered 28 June 1951 as its founding date.
Hun Sen's leadership (1991–2023)
In 1991, the party was renamed to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) during a United Nations-sponsored peace and reconciliation process. Politburo and the Secretariat to enter into the new Standing Committee, Chea Sim as President and Hun Sen as Vice-president. Despite being rooted in socialism, the party adopted a pragmatic approach in order to keep power. For instance, the CPP played a major role in Cambodian peace negotiation process, which led to the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 23 October 1991 and the creation of the second Kingdom of Cambodia. The CPP ousted Nodorom Ranariddh in a coup in 1997, leaving the party with no serious opposition. Thirty-two people died in the coup.
Under CPP rule, Cambodia transitioned into a lower-middle-income economy in 2016. The party aims to turn Cambodia into a higher-middle-income country by 2030 and high-income country by 2050. Ideologically, an increasing number of CPP senior leaders claim that the Cambodian ruling party has adopted a centrist position. They believe that the CPP presents a middle path between capitalism and communism, with emphasis on the values and principles of social market economy along with social and environmental protection, and Buddhist humanism. However, academics such as John Ciorciari have observed that the CPP still continues to maintain its communist-era party structures and that many of its top-ranking members were derived from KPRP. Also, despite Hun Sen being only the deputy leader of the party until 2015, he had de facto control of the party.
Political scientists Radek Buben, Elvin Franisco Rodríguez Fabilena and Karel Kouba classify the CPP under Hun Sen as left-wing, comparing it to the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in terms of both authoritarian governance and representing formerly far-left revolutionary organizations that transitioned into a more reformist type of governance. The Palgrave Handbook of Political Norms in Southeast Asia described the CPP as "leftist conservatives". The party was also described as "left-leaning" in a Deutsche Welle article in 2012. Sreinith Ten also argues that the party "had embedded the legacy of communism based on Marxist-Leninist ideology", and continues to cling onto socialist-oriented rhetoric and policies to maintain legitimacy, such as through promoting gender egalitarianism and establishing state-backed organizations such as the Kampuchea Revolutionary Women's Association. The CPP hosted a Socialist International meeting in 2004, remains a close ally of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), and most of the party members are former communists. The CPP also retains socialist party organisation.
It won 64 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly in the 1998 elections, 73 seats in the 2003 elections and 90 seats in the 2008 elections, winning the popular vote by the biggest margin ever for a National Assembly election with 58% of the vote. The CPP also won the 2006 Senate elections. The party lost 22 seats in the 2013 elections, with opposition gained. In the 2018 elections, the party won all 125 seats in the National Assembly and 58 of 62 seats in the Senate. The main opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was banned before the election. Since the 2023 elections, the party commands 120 of 125 seats in the National Assembly, and 55 of 62 seats in the Senate. Hun Sen, the former Prime Minister of Cambodia, has served as the CPP's President since 2015.
Party leadership (1979–1993) Heng Samrin: General Secretary of the KPRP (1981–1991) Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (later the Council of State) (1979–1992) Chea Sim: Minister of the Interior (1979–1981) President of the National Assembly (1981–92), Chairman of the Council of State (1992–1994) Pen Sovan: Minister of Defense (1979–1981); General Secretary of the KPRP (1979–1981); Prime Minister (1981) Hun Sen: Minister of Foreign Affairs (1979–1986; 1987–1990); Deputy Prime Minister (1981–85), Prime Minister (1985–1993) Chan Sy: Minister of defense (1981–1982), Prime Minister (1981–1984) Say Phouthang: Vice President of the State Council (1979–1993) Chairman of the Central Committee Chea Soth: Minister of Planning (1982–1986), Deputy Prime Minister (1982–1992) Bou Thang: Deputy Prime Minister (1982–1992), Minister of Defense (1982–1986) Math Ly: Vice President of the National Assembly Kong Korm: Minister of Foreign Affairs (1986–1987) Hor Namhong: Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990–1993)
List of party leaders
Presidents
KPRP (General Secretary) CPP (President) PortraitNameTerm of officeOffice heldVice PresidentFromToDuration 1 Tou Samouth21 September 195130 September 1960―― 2 Pen Sovan5 January 19795 December 1981 Minister of Defence (1979–1981) Prime Minister (1981)― 3Heng Samrin5 December 198117 October 1991 Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Council (1979–1981), President of the Council of State (1981–1992), President of the National Assembly (2006–2023)― 4Chea Sim17 October 19918 June 2015† Chairman of the National Assembly (1981–1993), President of the Council of State (1992–1993), President of the Senate (1999–2015)Hun Sen 5Hun Sen20 June 2015 Present Minister of Foreign Affairs (1979–1986, 1988–1990), Prime Minister (1985–2023), President of the Senate (2024–present)Say ChhumSar KhengTea BanhMen Sam AnHun Manet
Timeline
Vice Presidents Say Chhum, President of the Senate (9 June 2015 – 3 April 2024) Sar Kheng, Minister of Interior (3 February 1992 – 22 August 2023) Tea Banh, Minister of National Defence (1987 – 22 August 2023) Men Sam An, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia (25 September 2008 – 22 August 2023) Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia (22 August 2023 – present)
Organization The party is headed by a 32-member Permanent Committee, commonly referred to as the Politburo (after its former Communist namesake). The current members are (with their party positions in brackets):
Hun Sen (Chairman) Heng Samrin (Honorary Chairman) Sar Kheng (Deputy Chairman) Say Chhum (Chairman of the Standing Committee) Say Phouthang Bou Thang Tea Banh Men Sam An Nguon Nhel Ney Pena Sim Ka Ke Kim Yan Pol Saroeun Kong Sam Ol Im Chhun Lim Dith Munty Chea Chanto Uk Rabun Cheam Yeap Ek Sam Ol Som Kim Suor Khuon Sudary Pen Pannha Chhay Than Hor Nam Hong Bin Chhin Keat Chhon Yim Chhay Ly Tep Ngorn Kun Kim Meas Sophea Neth Savoeun
Electoral history
National Assembly elections Year Leader Candidate Votes Seats Position Government # % ± # ± 1981Pen Sovan 2,898,709 90.3 New New 1st 1993Chea SimHun Sen 1,533,471 38.2 52.1 66 2nd 1998 2,030,790 41.4 3.2 13 1st 2003 2,447,259 47.3 5.9 9 1st 2008 3,492,374 58.1 10.8 17 1st 2013 3,235,969 48.8 9.3 22 1st 2018Hun Sen 4,889,113 76.8 28.0 57 1st 2023Hun SenHun Manet 6,398,311 82.3 5.5 5 1st
Communal elections YearLeaderVotesChiefs CouncillorsPosition#%±#±#±2002Hun Sen 2,647,849 60.9 New NewNew 1st 20073,148,533 60.8 0.1 7 441 1st 20123,631,082 61.8 1.0 1 299 1st 20173,540,056 50.8 11.0 436 1,789 1st 20225,378,77374.3 23.5 492 2,873 1st
Senate elections YearCandidateVotesSeatsPosition#%±#±2006Chea Sim7,85469.2— 14 1st20128,88077.8 8.6 1 1st2018Say Chhum11,20295.9 18.1 12 1st2024Hun Sen10,05285.9 10.0 3 1st
See also History of Cambodia Cambodian–Vietnamese War People's Republic of Kampuchea State of Cambodia
References Notes
Citations
Bibliography Guo, Sujian (2006). The Political Economy of Asian Transition from Communism. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. .
External links CPP website List of incidents attributed to the Cambodian Peoples Party on the START database