The ruling Cambodian People’s Party will provide 120 lawmakers to the 125-seat National Assembly following the results of the July election, with the remainder of seats going to the royalist Funcinpec party.
The profiles below include both ruling party veterans and new faces, many of them relatives of current politicians. Ages are calculated as of election day, July 23, 2023.
Banteay Meanchey
1. Ke Kim Yan, CPP
Ke Kim Yan, 68, was deputy prime minister in the sixth mandate. Kim Yan was former commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces but was removed in 2009 for apparently using his power to broker land deals. Shortly after, he was named head of the National Authority for Combating Drugs.
2. Kousoum Saroeuth, CPP
Kousoum Saroeuth, 67, was an incumbent member of parliament for Banteay Meanchey and was a member of the commission on education, youth, sports, religious affairs, culture and tourism. He has previously served as a provincial governor for Banteay Meanchey and was a secretary of state for the Tourism Ministry.
3. Y Long, CPP
Y Long, 69, represented Banteay Meanchey in the National Assembly in the sixth mandate and has previously served as a deputy governor for the province.
4. Nuom Sophoan, CPP
Nuom Sophoan, 68, was an incumbent member of parliament for Banteay Meanchey province in the sixth mandate.
5. Serei Kosal, CPP
Serei Kosal, 69, was an incumbent member of parliament for Banteay Meanchey province in the sixth mandate. He has previously served as first vice chair of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, and a deputy chief for the National Authority for Land Dispute Resolution. While working in the dispute resolution position he was accused via a 2017 Facebook post of illegally grabbing land in Oddar Meanchey province, but he opened a defamation case against the accuser and the judge ruled in Kosal’s favor. According to a 2019 article by local newspaper Koh Santepheap, Kosal brandished an AK-47 and threatened to kill four Battambang province residents whom he accused of illegal logging.
6. Kheng Sum, CPP
Kheng Sum, 69, was chair of the Banteay Meanchey provincial council. He has previously served as police chief in Banteay Meanchey province and deputy police chief in Siem Reap province.
Battambang
1. Sar Kheng, CPP
Sar Kheng, 72, was one of 10 incumbent deputy prime ministers in the sixth mandate and served as interior minister. He is also vice president of the Cambodian People’s Party.
2. Nhin Khorn, CPP
Nhin Khorn, 72, was an incumbent member of parliament representing Battambang in the sixth mandate and a member of the National Assembly’s economics, finance, banking and audit commission.
3. Lork Huor, CPP
Lork Huor, 60, was an incumbent member of parliament representing Battambang and a CPP central committee member. Huor is also an oknha and a three-star general who allegedly encroached on thousands of hectares of Kandal residents’ land until 2017, when he was ordered to return the land and lost his Interior Ministry position. Huor was apparently on a Land Ministry blacklist for grabbing land at the time, but he was later awarded more than 12 hectares of Boeng Choeng Ek lake by the government in 2022. In 2012, Huor survived an attempted murder, but his bodyguard jumped in front of the bullet and died instead.
4. Ang Vong Vathana, CPP
Ang Vong Vathana, 74, served in the sixth mandate as a senior minister in charge of special missions and is a former Justice Minister.
5. Chheang Vun, CPP
Chheang Vun, 72, was an incumbent member of parliament for Battambang in the sixth mandate and was chair of the National Assembly’s commission on foreign affairs, international cooperation, information and media. He previously served as spokesman of the National Assembly when the ruling party drafted the controversial NGO Law.
6. Keut Rith, CPP
Keut Rith, 44, was the incumbent justice minister from the sixth mandate and, according to RFA, played a major role in drafting recent constitutional amendments ahead of his 2020 ministerial appointment.
7. Sak Setha, CPP
Sak Setha, 67, is a permanent secretary in the Interior Ministry.
8. Chan Sophal, CPP
Chan Sophal, 65, represented Battambang in the National Assembly in the sixth mandate and was a member of the assembly’s commission on interior, national defense and civil service. He is a former governor of Battambang.
Kampong Cham
1. Yim Chhay Ly, CPP
Yim Chhay Ly, 73, was a deputy prime minister in the sixth mandate and the chair of the Council for Rural and Agricultural Development. In addition to being on the CPP central committee, he is related, through his children’s marriages, to other top political figures Prime Minister Hun Sen and Land Minister Chea Sophara.
2. Khieu Kanharith, CPP
Khieu Kanharith, 71, was the information minister in the sixth mandate.
3. Pan Sorasak, CPP
Pan Sorasak, 67, was the incumbent commerce minister from the sixth mandate. According to Kampuchea Thmey, he spent 18 years in the private sector, primarily at Unocal Corporation, a U.S.-based oil and gas exploration company.
4. Veng Sakhon, CPP
Veng Sakhon, 62, is a former agriculture minister.
5. Hang Chuon Naron, CPP
Hang Chuon Naron, 61, was education minister in the sixth mandate.
6. Lou Kimchhun, CPP
Lou Kimchhun, 67, was a delegate of the Cambodian government and is CEO of the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port. He is also a member of the CPP’s central committee, and serves on the Board of Engineers of Cambodia.
7. Lun Limthai, CPP
Lun Limthai, 65, served as a member of parliament representing Kampong Cham in the previous sixth mandate and was secretary of the National Assembly’s commission on planning, investment, agriculture, rural development, environment and water resources. He was previously governor of Kampong Cham.
8. Nguon Socheat, CPP
Nguon Socheat, 51, represented Kampong Cham in the National Assembly in the sixth mandate, and was a member of the assembly’s commission on foreign affairs, international cooperation, information and media. He was previously deputy governor of Kampong Cham, He is the son of Nguon Nhel, former first vice president of the National Assembly and a CPP central committee member who died in 2021.
9. Ma Chhoeun, CPP
Ma Chhoeun, 69, was an incumbent member of parliament representing Kampong Cham in the sixth mandate and is a member of the CPP working group in Kampong Cham. Chhoeun is a retired general and former president of the Cambodian Police Academy.
10. Nhoeun Raden, Funcinpec
Nhoeun Raden, 37, is the spokesperson for Funcinpec. Raden and other Funcinpec leaders received training from the Chinese Communist Party on policy and party building last year.
Kampong Chhnang
1. Kong Sam Ol, CPP
Kong Sam Ol, 86, was deputy prime minister and minister of the royal palace in the sixth mandate, and is a CPP central committee member and head of the CPP working group in Kampong Chhnang. Hun Sen recently asked Sam Ol to stop attending marches with the premier out of concerns about his health.
2. Ouk Rabun, CPP
Ouk Rabun, 72, was the incumbent rural development minister from the sixth mandate and chair of the Kampong Chhnang provincial assistance team. Under a Vietnamese-backed government in 1981, Rabun was appointed director of the Planning Ministry’s general department of planning, then became vice minister of planning in 1986 and vice minister of commerce in 1990. He became a member of parliament for Kampong Chhnang in the first restored election in 1993, and by 2003 became a secretary of state in the Finance Ministry.
3. Ker Chanmony, CPP
Ker Chanmony, 64, was an incumbent member of parliament for Kampong Chhnang in the sixth mandate.
4. Ly Narun, CPP
Ly Narun, 62, was an incumbent member of parliament for Kampong Chhnang in the sixth mandate and a member of the National Anti-Corruption Council. He was also made a secretary of state of the Rural Development Ministry four months ahead of the 2023 election. He is also on the Board of Engineers of Cambodia.
Kampong Speu
1. Chhay Than, CPP
Chhay Than, 75, was a senior minister and the incumbent planning minister in the sixth mandate. His first government role was head of taxation in the Vietnamese-backed government in 1981, and he later became Finance Minister from 1986 to 1993. He has served as the planning minister since 1998.
2. Hun Many, CPP
Hun Many, 40, is the youngest son of Hun Sen and president of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, an organization that provides the majority of election observers and also contributes to other pro-government causes. He was also a member of parliament representing Kampong Speu in the sixth mandate and chair of the National Assembly’s commission on education, youth, sports, religious affairs, culture and tourism. He is married to Yim Chhay Lin, the daughter of Yim Chhay Ly, a deputy prime minister and top-ranked candidate in Kampong Cham province.
3. Satya Vuth, CPP
Satya Vuth, 69, is an incumbent member of parliament representing Kampong Speu province and a member of the National Assembly’s commission on interior, national defense and civil service.
4. Seng Nhak, CPP
Seng Nhak, 43, is an oknha and the son-in-law of notorious tycoon and senator Ly Yong Phat. He is general director of some of Yong Phat’s companies, including Phnom Penh Sugar, which used international development funding to illegally seize and bulldoze more than 1,100 families’ land. Nhak, also the general director of The Premium Land, and his wife Ly Arporn have received large plots of privatized land from the government.
5. Kheng Samvada, CPP
Kheng Samvada, 66, is a secretary of state in the Women’s Affairs Ministry and is the wife of Prak Sokhonn, deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister.
6. Sok Born, CPP
Sok Born, 71, was a member of parliament representing Kampong Speu in the sixth mandate.
Kampong Thom
1. Chea Chanto, CPP
Chea Chanto, 71, was the governor of the National Bank of Cambodia. Under the Vietnamese-backed government, Chanto was initially the deputy planning minister before becoming minister in 1989. After the first restored election in 1993, he retained his position as planning minister and later became the National Bank governor. His daughter, Chea Serey, has been picked to succeed him at the central bank.
2. Thong Khon, CPP
Thong Khon, 71, was tourism minister in the sixth mandate and chaired the government’s working group for Kampong Thom province.
3. Suos Yara, CPP
Suos Yara, 49, represented Preah Vihear in the National Assembly in the sixth mandate, and was chair of the National Assembly’s commission on foreign affairs, international cooperation, information and media. He is also a CPP spokesperson.
4. Khoeng Noupheap, CPP
Khoeng Noupheap, 44, represented Kampong Thom in the National Assembly in the sixth mandate and was a member of the National Assembly’s commission on health, social affairs, veterans, youth rehabilitation, labor, vocational training and women’s affairs. Noupheap is also a vice president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce and his company, Noupheap Sophy Investment, has been connected to illegal logging in Ratanakiri province.
5. Norng Veasna, CPP
Norng Veasna, 41, was an incumbent member of parliament representing Kampong Thom in the sixth mandate. He is also connected to 10 companies, several holding economic land concessions, including rubber plantation Sambath Platinum in Kampong Thom, which allegedly filed a court complaint against an indigenous land activist in 2022 amid protests over clearing community land.
6. Neang Channak, Funcinpec
Neang Channak, 39, became a member of parliament representing Kampong Thom in 2017 after the CNRP was dissolved, then lost his seat in the 2018 election.
— Yim Leat, CPP
Yim Leat, 36, is an incumbent member of parliament who represented Kampong Thom in the sixth mandate, and was a member of the National Assembly’s economics, finance, banking, and audit commission. He is a son of Yim Chhay Ly, a deputy prime minister and CPP central committee member. Leat is also a member of the Bar Association of Cambodia. Leat, formerly No. 4 on the CPP’s list for the province, has been appointed deputy governor of the National Bank instead, and was removed from the list of candidates for the National Assembly.
Kampot
1. Pen Simon, CPP
Pen Simon, 68, represented Kampot in the National Assembly in the sixth mandate. Simon was a former director of the customs and excise department and was accused of corruption in his department. Global Witness has said that Simon’s wife has been conducting business deals with Attwood Import Export, a distributor of luxury goods. Simon owns a massive mansion behind the Senate building in Phnom Penh, whose 6,500 square meters of land was reportedly worth $18 million in 2015.
2. Un Sokunthea, CPP
Un Sokunthea, 68, is an incumbent member of parliament representing Kampot and was secretary for the National Assembly’s commission on interior, national defense and civil service. She is married to former provincial governor Khoy Khun Hour.
3. Som Chen, CPP
Som Chen, 74, was a member of parliament representing Kampot in the sixth mandate. He is the father of Som Piseth, governor of Kep province. Chen is also chair of the Cambodia-DPRK Friendship Parliamentary Group.
4. Nim Chantara, CPP
Nim Chantara, 68, was a member of parliament who represented Kampot in the sixth mandate and a member of the National Assembly’s commission on foreign affairs, international cooperation, information and media. Chantara is married to Hun Sen’s sister Hun Sinath and previously served as an ambassador to Myanmar. He is a director for four companies including car company Billion Auto and private security firm Overseas Security Guardians Holdings.
5. Cham Nimul, CPP
Cham Nimul, 43, is a secretary of state for the Commerce Ministry and also a member of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia’s standing committee. She is the daughter of Industry Minister Cham Prasidh.
6. Math Seth, CPP
Math Seth, 42, was a member of parliament representing Kampot in the sixth mandate. Seth appears to have two companies in the Commerce Ministry registry.
Kandal
1. Hun Sen, CPP
Hun Sen, 70, is the incumbent prime minister of Cambodia, having served this role for 38 years. A former Khmer Rouge soldier who defected, he first entered politics under the Vietnam-backed government of the 1980s as a foreign minister, and then became prime minister in 1985. He did not win the first restored election in 1993 but forced a power-sharing deal with winning candidate Norodom Ranariddh then took the prime ministership outright in an armed conflict in 1997 labeled by many international observers as a coup. He is expected to resign from his premiership and pass the torch to his son Hun Manet shortly after the election. He has also claimed he will be Senate President after resigning, thus he may be removed from the National Assembly post.
2. Khuon Sodary, CPP
Khuon Sodary, 70, is the incumbent second vice president of the National Assembly from the sixth mandate.
3. Aun Pornmoniroth, CPP
Aun Pornmoniroth, 57, was deputy prime minister and finance minister in the sixth mandate. He is married to businesswoman Im Paulika, who is daughter of former Education Minister Im Sothy. Pornmoniroth is also chair of the Supreme National Economic Council and chair of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He has attempted to apply for a Cypriot passport.
4. Prak Sokhonn, CPP
Prak Sokhonn, 69, was deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister in the sixth mandate. He is the husband of Khem Samvada, a secretary of state in the Women’s Affairs Ministry who is now a National Assembly candidate. He previously served as the telecommunications minister and in advisory roles to Hun Sen, and from 1979 to 1993 served in the army and worked in its information services.
5. Mao Phirun, CPP
Mao Phirun, 63, is a former governor of Kandal province and after 2020 became the chair of the provincial council. Shortly before he was removed from the governor position, the ACU opened an investigation into corruption in Kandal province. He has also been on the National Council for Sustainable Development and is currently a member of the CPP central committee.
6. Sun Chanthol, CPP
Sun Chanthol, 67, is the incumbent transport minister from the sixth mandate and president of the Swimming Federation of Cambodia. He has served roles in the Council for the Development of Cambodia and Commerce Ministry, in addition to working at the U.S. corporation General Electric.
7. Lim Kean Hor, CPP
Lim Kean Hor, 73, is the incumbent water resources minister from the sixth mandate and chair of the Cambodian National Mekong Committee. He has been found to be contributing money and work into renovating Hun Sen’s property in Takhmao city.
8. Sok Chenda Sophea, CPP
Sok Chenda Sophea, 67, has been the secretary-general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia since 1997 and is vice chair of the Supreme National Economic Council. Prior to assuming that position, he worked in private companies in France, and one year after moving to Cambodia in 1992 he was made an undersecretary of state in the Tourism Ministry.
9. Vongsey Vissoth, CPP
Vongsey Vissoth, 58, is a permanent secretary of state for the Finance Ministry. He previously worked in the air freight industry before joining the Finance Ministry in 1995, and is credited with leading fiscal policy and budget preparation for the CPP government.
10. Ty Sokun, CPP
Ty Sokun, 56, was a member of parliament who represented Kandal in the sixth mandate and was secretary of the National Assembly’s commission on foreign affairs, international cooperation, information and media. Sokun was previously director of the Forestry Administration but Hun Sen removed him from his position allegedly for not acting swiftly enough to stop logging operations. Sokun later became secretary of state in the Agriculture Ministry.
11. Kong Bandol, Funcinpec
Kong Bandol, 47, is chair of Funcinpec’s election working group and a chair of the Kandal province party committee. He’s also a member of the party’s board of directors.
Koh Kong
1. Dom Yuk Hean, CPP
Dom Yuk Hean, 70, was a member of parliament who represented Koh Kong province in the sixth mandate and is deputy chair of the CPP’s working group in the province. He was formerly the Koh Kong deputy governor.
Kratie
1. Prum Sokha, CPP
Prum Sokha, 68, is the incumbent civil service minister from the sixth mandate. He was previously a secretary of state for the Interior Ministry. According to Kampuchea Thmey, Sokha chaired the CPP’s negotiation team in every election crisis between 1998 and 2013.
2. Pech Buntin, CPP
Pech Buntin, 78, was a senior minister in charge of special missions in the sixth mandate and is a former civil service minister.
3. Sar Chamrong, CPP
Sar Chamrong, 65, was formerly governor of Kratie province and was secretary of the National Assembly’s human rights commission for complaints and investigations in the sixth mandate. Chamrong became Kratie governor in 2012, replacing a predecessor who died in a road accident, and was removed in 2018 shortly after an estimated eight Kratie villagers were killed in a clash with police. Chamrong previously served as deputy governor of Banteay Meanchey, where he was accused of grabbing land from 30 villagers in O’Beichoan commune, before being transferred to Kratie.
Mondulkiri
1. Chan Yoeun, CPP
Chan Yoeun, 72, was a member of parliament for Mondulkiri in the sixth mandate and member of the National Assembly’s commission on interior, national defense and civil service. He is also a former governor of the province. While deputy governor of Mondulkiri in 2008, Yoeun, who is Bunong, reportedly evicted Bunong families from their land. As former governor, he defended his son-in-law who was accused of illegal logging while working as Yoeun’s assistant. He was chair of the provincial People’s Revolutionary Committee from 1983 to 1991.
Phnom Penh
1. Hun Manet, CPP
Hun Manet is the eldest son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and is set to serve as the next prime minister. He has been deputy commander of the Cambodian military and in April was promoted at 45 years old to a four-star general, the country’s highest military rank. Manet attended schools in the U.S. and U.K. — the U.S.’s West Point Military Academy and New York University, and U.K.’s Bristol University — and appears to own at least one property abroad. He is credited with handling negotiations during the border skirmishes with Thailand in Preah Vihear province between 2008 and 2011, and has also served as head of the Defense Ministry’s National Counter-Terrorism Special Forces.
2. Pa Socheatvong, CPP
Pa Socheatvong, 66, served as governor of Phnom Penh from 2013 to 2017 before being elected as a member of the National Assembly. He left the parliamentary position in 2019 to be chair of the Phnom Penh municipal council. He was appointed as a personal adviser to Hun Sen, and in 2021 made a senior minister in charge of special missions.
3. Ith Samheng, CPP
Ith Samheng, 68, was the labor minister in the sixth mandate and previously served as the social affairs minister.
4. Mam Bunheng, CPP
Mam Bunheng, 74, was health minister in the sixth mandate. He chaired the Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat Covid-19, but Hun Sen criticized Bunheng’s handling of the pandemic. Bunheng is the oldest candidate on the Cambodian People’s Party candidate list in Phnom Penh.
5. Ing Kantha Phavi, CPP
Ing Kantha Phavi, 63, was the women’s affairs minister in the sixth mandate.
6. Kep Chuktema, CPP
Kep Chuktema,72, was an incumbent member of parliament for Phnom Penh in the sixth mandate and is a former governor of Phnom Penh from 2003 to 2013. In 2022 he was elected the chair of the National Assembly’s interior, national defense and civil service commission. Chuktema oversaw several brutal evictions during his tenure as governor, including those at Boeng Kak and Borey Keila.
7. Lork Kheng, CPP
Lork Kheng, 68, was an incumbent member of parliament for Phnom Penh in the sixth mandate. She was involved in a highly publicized land dispute over 2 hectares of land in Phnom Penh’s Prek Pnov district, which resulted in the other disputant, Defense Ministry undersecretary of state Sar Thavy, being charged with conspiracy to commit embezzlement.
8. Kruoch Sam An, CPP
Kruoch Sam An,70, was an incumbent member of parliament for Phnom Penh and was deputy chair of the National Assembly’s legislation and justice commission.
9. Othsman Hassan, CPP
Othsman Hassan, 69, was senior minister in charge of special missions in the sixth mandate and is a member of the central committee of the Cambodian People’s Party. Hassan frequently leads missions abroad and has business relations particularly with majority-Islamic countries. He is also president of the Cambodian Muslim Development Foundation. Hassan is an oknha and has transferred shares in his previous company, Hassan Import Export, to his children.
10. Khut Chandara, CPP
Khut Chandara, 42, was an incumbent member of parliament for Phnom Penh and a member of the National Assembly’s commission on planning, investment, agriculture, rural development, environment and water resources. Chandara is also vice president of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, the organization contributing the most election observers in the last four elections. His first role in the government was as an assistant to the late deputy prime minister Sok An from 2004 to 2008, and he remained in the Council of Ministers since. He is also on the board of the Rural Development Bank. He is the youngest candidate on the Cambodian People’s Party candidate list in Phnom Penh.
11. Ly Chheng, CPP
Ly Chheng, 67, was an incumbent member of parliament for Phnom Penh. He is also chair of the Beltei Group, a chain of private schools that are not internationally accredited.
12. Norodom Chakravuth, Funcinpec
Norodom Chakravuth, 53, is the president of the Funcinpec party and the eldest son of Norodom Ranariddh, the late prince and the royalist party’s former president, who died in 2021.
Preah Vihear
1. Meas Sophea, CPP
Meas Sophea, 68, was a senior minister of special missions in the sixth mandate and is an honorary Cambodian Red Cross president in Preah Vihear. Sophea is a four-star general and was Hun Manet’s predecessor in the military as deputy commander of the armed forces and commander of the army.
Prey Veng
1. Cheam Yeap, CPP
Cheam Yeap, 76, was the incumbent first vice president of the National Assembly from the sixth mandate and a CPP central committee member. Yeap served in the National Assembly during the Vietnamese-backed government from 1981 to 1993. Human rights organizations raised concern that Yeap was never prosecuted after his car was involved in a fatal hit-and-run in 2013.
2. Sar Sokha, CPP
Sar Sokha, 42, was a secretary of state in the Education Ministry, president of the Cambodian Student Sports Federation and the son of Interior Minister Sar Kheng. He is also vice president of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia. Sokha is married to Ke Kuon Sophy, the daughter of sanctioned general Ke Kim Yan. Last year rumors circulated that he was interested in the premier role as well but he later dismissed the notion. Sokha is a former director of Grand Phnom Penh Golf as well as Jinbei Investment, which has been connected to human trafficking and online fraud.
3. Mom Sibon, CPP
Mom Sibon,78, was an incumbent member of parliament for Prey Veng in the sixth mandate and is a former secretary of state at the Transportation Ministry.
4. Long Bunny, CPP
Long Bunny, 53, was an incumbent member of parliament representing Prey Veng and a former lawmaker in the same province for the opposition CNRP. Bunny defected to the CPP in October 2017, shortly after the arrest of the defunct party’s president Kem Sokha, and he retained his seat as a parliamentarian for the ruling party in the 2018 election.
5. Cheam Pe A, CPP
Cheam Pe A, 47, was an incumbent member of parliament for Prey Veng and as deputy director-general at the Interior Ministry. In 2012, he was charged and fined $1,230 after he was caught attempting to bribe a Sam Rainsy Party commune councilor in Battambang to vote for the ruling party. He is also director of monitoring and evaluation for the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development, for which he was involved in multiple international investments including REDD+ schemes and the World Bank’s questionable LASED II land reallocation projects
6. Nhim Vanda, CPP
Nhim Vanda, 75, was formerly the first vice president of the National Committee for Disaster Management, but Hun Sen fired him in 2019, with the premier claiming Vanda was committing infidelity instead of responding to the fatal building collapse in Sihanoukville. The official was instead given the role of government adviser with the rank of senior minister. He was made a four-star general in 2007 after he located an aircraft that crashed in Kampot earlier that year, and before that he had served several government roles, including commerce minister, youth affairs minister and a special representative for the prime minister in the 1990s. He is also the owner of the Tuek Chhou Zoo in Kampot province, which has been criticized for its treatment of animals.
7. Sborng Sarath, CPP
Sborng Sarath, 69, was an incumbent member of parliament representing Prey Veng in the sixth mandate and chairman of the Prey Veng provincial council. He is a former Preah Sihanouk provincial governor who resigned in 2014.
8. Heu Pavy, CPP
Heu Pavy, 67, was an incumbent member of parliament for Prey Veng in the sixth mandate and the government delegate in charge of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port. He is also an oknha and a member of the newly-established Cambodian Oknha Association.
9. Kong Salan, CPP
Kong Salan, 65, was an incumbent member of parliament representing Prey Veng and the provincial director of women’s affairs.
10. Ouk Sethicheat, CPP
Ouk Sethicheat, 54, was the director-general of sports for the Education Ministry in the sixth mandate and the vice president of the Basketball Federation.
11. Phoem Rong, Funcinpec
Phoem Rong, 52, is chair of Funcinpec’s Prey Veng working group, and also campaigned for the party during the 2022 commune election.
Pursat
1. Suy Sem, CPP
Suy Sem, 75, was the incumbent Mines and Energy Minister, who was first elected to the National Assembly in 2003. Sem was originally the minister of the defunct industry, mines and energy ministry but was handed leadership of the energy ministry after it was split. His wife, Chea Kheng, owns agribusiness KDC International, which has been involved in a long-standing land dispute with residents in Kampong Chhnang’s Lor Peang community. Sem has accused human rights NGO Adhoc of helping to stage protests against his wife. Sem appointed his son Suy Dimanche as a spokesperson and secretary of state in his own ministry.
2. Keo Rattanak, CPP
Keo Rattanak, 49, was a minister delegate attached to the prime minister and director-general of Electrite du Cambodge, the state-run energy utility, in the sixth mandate. A former employee of Rattanak also appears to chair Schneitec, a major electricity company that regularly receives EDC contracts, including a controversial project to build a power line through Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. Rattanak’s wife Kheng Chansopheak and sister Keo Rottany both hold powerful business connections — to Hun Manet’s wife Pich Chanmony and influential tycoon Choeung Sopheap, respectively.
3. Ty Thany, CPP
Ty Thany, 64, was an incumbent Pursat lawmaker from the sixth mandate, who joined the National Assembly only in February 2023 to replace the late Khoy Sokha. Thany was formerly executive director of Electricite du Cambodge and vice chairman of the Electricity Authority of Cambodia.
4. Keo Virac, CPP
Keo Virac, 59, was an incumbent deputy director at Electricite du Cambodge, where he is part of EDC’s rural electrification fund.
Ratanakiri
1. Kith Try, CPP
Kith Try, 54, was deputy provincial governor of Stung Treng.
Siem Reap
1. Tea Banh, CPP
Tea Banh, 77, was defense minister for more than three decades, starting in the role in 1987. He was deputy prime minister in the sixth mandate, and is a vice president of the CPP. His son Tea Seiha, who was Siem Reap governor, is also a lawmaker candidate.
2. Seang Nam, CPP
Seang Nam, 65, has been elected to five previous National Assembly mandates. He owns luxury hotel City Angkor in Siem Reap, and his youngest daughter Nam Lina is married to Yim Leat, the son of Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly.
3. Tea Seiha, CPP
Tea Seiha, 42, is the governor of Siem Reap province and a member of the CPP’s central committee. He is the second son of Defense Minister Tea Banh. He has a business degree from Passy Saint-Honore in Paris and studied at the French military academy Saint-Cyr.
4. Tekreth Kamrong, CPP
Tekreth Kamrong, 50, is a secretary of state for the Commerce Ministry. It is her first time standing for parliament.
5. Chhim Ma, CPP
Chhim Ma, 66, is a returning lawmaker for Siem Reap and was a member of the National Assembly’s commission on economy, finance, banking and auditing.
6. Nou Phalla, CPP
Nou Phalla, 69, is an incumbent lawmaker who was a member of the National Assembly’s commission on interior, national defense and civil service.
Preah Sihanouk
1. Say Sam Al, CPP
Say Sam Al, 43, is the youngest son of CPP vice president Say Chhum, who has also held the role of Senate president. Sam Al became environmental minister in 2013. He has a biology degree from Australia’s Monash University.
2. Tekreth Samrach, CPP
Tekreth Samrach, 55, is a minister delegate to the prime minister and secretary of state at the Council of Ministers. He is also chairman of Cambodia Angkor Air.
3. So Khan Rithy Kun, CPP
So Khan Rithy Kun, 54, is a secretary of state at the Environment Ministry.
Stung Treng
1. Loy Sophat, CPP
Loy Sophat, 74, is an incumbent Stung Treng lawmaker from the sixth mandate, and served on the National Assembly’s commission of planning, investment, agriculture, rural development, environment and water resources.
Svay Rieng
1. Men Sam An, CPP
Men Sam An, 69, is a vice president of the CPP and was a deputy prime minister in the sixth mandate — the only woman among 10 deputy prime ministers. She was also the minister of National Assembly-Senate relations.
Her son Peng Pursa is deputy governor of Svay Rieng province and another son, Peng Punea, is a secretary of state at the Transport Ministry.
She was first elected as a lawmaker in 2003. She is also president of the Cambodian Women for Peace and Development group and has the rank of four-star general. She helped celebrate the launch of Macau triad boss “Broken Tooth” Wan Kuok Kai’s businesses in Cambodia.
2. Duong Vanna, CPP
Duong Vanna, 70, is a five-time lawmaker for Svay Rieng province and stood for her sixth term this year. She is also an honorary president of the Svay Rieng branch of the Cambodian Red Cross.
3. Chey Son, CPP
Chey Son, 69, was a lawmaker for Svay Rieng in the sixth mandate and a member of the National Assembly’s anti-corruption commission.
4. Sam Dara, CPP
Sam Dara, 59, was an actor in the 1990s before becoming a four-star general in the police force. It is his first time standing as a National Assembly candidate.
5. Ek Sovannphearak, CPP
Ek Sovannphearak, 55, was a deputy governor for Oddar Meanchey province and later deputy governor of Svay Rieng province. It is her first time standing as a National Assembly candidate.
Takeo
1. Bin Chhin, CPP
Bin Chhin, 73, was a permanent deputy prime minister and the minister in charge of the Council of Ministers in the sixth mandate. Chhin has held numerous titles in the government, most of which he assumed from the late Deputy Prime Minister Sok An after his death. These titles include head of the National Land Dispute Resolution Authority; chair of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal Task Force; head of both the Apsara Authority and the agency that oversees temples in Preah Vihear; chair of the Cambodian National Commission for Unesco; leader of the National Association of Cambodian Scouts; and chief of academicians for the Royal Academy of Cambodia, among other roles.
2. Chea Vandeth, CPP
Chea Vandeth, 51, was the incumbent Telecommunications Minister from the sixth mandate. He and his wife Sok Ly are also the founders and directors of American University in Phnom Penh.
3. Nin Saphon, CPP
Nin Saphon, 75, was an incumbent member of parliament for Takeo from the sixth mandate. She has served as chair of the National Assembly’s commission on public works, industry, mines, energy, commerce and land management, and chaired the Cambodia-Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Group.
4. Mok Mareth, CPP
Mok Mareth, 75, is a former environment minister and an incumbent member of parliament for Takeo from the sixth mandate. Under the Vietnamese-backed government, Mareth served as the deputy governor for Phnom Penh capital and later became deputy agriculture minister. He then became environment minister, a role he held for two decades. He is also chair of a government-run organization called Save Nature Cambodia.
5. Sou Phirin, CPP
Sou Phirin, 70, was an incumbent member of parliament for Takeo from the sixth mandate and a member of the National Assembly’s commission on economy, finance, banking and auditing.He was previously a secretary of state in the Council of Ministers and governor for Takeo and Siem Reap provinces. Phirin’s son-in-law Lay Vannak also served as Takeo governor but was later charged with murder for the death of a National Assembly staffer with whom Vannak was having an affair. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison but received a pardon at the request of Hun Sen.
6. Chan Sarun, CPP
Chan Sarun, 75, was an incumbent member of parliament for Takeo from the sixth mandate and a senior minister in charge of special missions. He is a former agriculture minister, chair of the L’bokator Federation and a member of the Royal Academy’s academic council. He appears to be connected to two companies listed in the Commerce Ministry’s directory. He has also been linked to an illegal logging syndicate running in the 2000s through a company that his ministry gave rights to for a rubber plantation in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary.
7. Ith Sok, CPP
Ith Sok, 69, was an incumbent member of parliament for Takeo from the sixth mandate. He was a deputy governor of Takeo province and a government adviser.
8. Nou Sovanny, CPP
Nou Sovanny, 66, was an incumbent member of parliament for Takeo from the sixth mandate. She is a former governor of Takeo province.
Kep
1. Cham Prasidh, CPP
Cham Prasidh, 72, was the industry minister in the sixth mandate and has been a member of the CPP’s central committee since 1987. He was a personal assistant to Hun Sen in 1980 and a translator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also served as a deputy minister for finance and the cabinet for the People’s Republic of Kampuchea during the 1980s. He became commerce minister in 1994.
Pailin
1. Y Chhean, CPP
Y Chhean, 71, was an incumbent member of parliament for Pailin for the sixth mandate. Chhean was a former Pol Pot bodyguard who formerly served as Pailin governor. He later chaired the provincial council and the provincial CPP, but he was removed from those positions in 2014 over allegations he embezzled $400,000. He was then transferred to deputy chief of staff for the prime minister and was also a secretary of state for the Defense Ministry. His wife, Ban Sreymom, previously served as a Pailin lawmaker and is now the governor.
Oddar Meanchey
1. Kun Kim, CPP
Kun Kim, 69, was a senior minister in charge of veterans and people with disabilities and first deputy of the National Committee for Disaster Management. Kun Kim’s eldest son, Kim Rithy, is governor of Preah Vihear province.
Tbong Khmum
1. Heng Samrin, CPP
Heng Samrin, 89, was president of the National Assembly in the sixth mandate, and is a senior figure in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. Initially a Khmer Rouge army commander, he escaped to Vietnam and assisted the invasion, and he then became the de facto leader of the Hanoi-backed People’s Republic of Kampuchea from 1979 to 1981. Samrin joined the National Assembly in 1993. Samrin’s daughter Heng Sam An is married to Oddar Meanchey governor Pen Kosal, who is reportedly related to Kampot’s top-ranked member of parliament Pen Simon. Samrin is the oldest member of parliament.
2. Chea Sophara, CPP
Chea Sophara, 71, was deputy prime minister and land minister in the sixth mandate. He was a Phnom Penh governor from 1998 to 2003 and was reportedly popular for his improvements to security in the city, but Hun Sen removed him from the post after capital residents razed the Thai Embassy and several Thai-owned businesses in anger over Thailand’s attempts to claim the temples in Preah Vihear province. He then served as ambassador to Myanmar and rural development minister before gaining his current role in 2016. Sophara has been criticized for his grand property in northern Phnom Penh, which includes six villas and a golf course, on 11 hectares of land worth an estimated $45 million in 2015. Sophara’s daughter Chea Sophamaden — a business person who is married to Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly’s son and general Yim Leang — owns a property development company and has received land in Boeng Tamok lake. Another child of Sophara, Chea Sopha Pheaksa, is married to the daughter of the late agriculture minister Tao Seng Hour, while another, Chea Sophakanny, is married to lawmaker Eang Sophalleth.
3. Vong Soth, CPP
Vong Soth, 67, was social affairs minister in the sixth mandate and is a son-in-law of Heng Samrin. Soth is also leader of a task force to solve homelessness issues, but his ministry has long been criticized for establishing a social services center that has functioned more like a prison, with a recent spate of inmate deaths. Human Rights Watch called for the removal of Soth from his post after the minister in 2017 warned that the government would whip opponents of the Cambodian People’s Party with bamboo sticks.
4. Eang Sophalleth, CPP
Eang Sophalleth, 53, was secretary of state at the Environment Ministry, and has also served as spokesperson and personal assistant to Hun Sen for at least two decades. He previously worked as undersecretary of state for the transport and agriculture ministries before joining the Environment Ministry. He is also former chair of the Association of Natural Rubber-Producing Countries and has since co-founded Paragon Corporation and is honorary chair of Paragon International Schools. Sophalleth is married to Chea Sophara’s daughter Chea Sophakanny. Sophalleth regularly posts self-help commentary and advice using stick figure drawings on his Facebook page.
5. Chay Borin, CPP
Chay Borin, 50, is an incumbent member of parliament for Tbong Khmum province and was secretary for the National Assembly’s commission on economy, finance, banking and auditing in the sixth mandate. He is also a member of the CPP central committee and a representative of Hun Manet, frequently visiting key people on behalf of the prime minister-elect. His father is the late Chay Seang Y, a tycoon famous for producing traditional rice wine who was ordained by the supreme monk Tep Vong’s board of priests.
6. Dith Tina, CPP
Dith Tina, 44, is the incumbent Agriculture Minister, replacing former minister Veng Sakhon in 2022. Tina was previously undersecretary of state in the commerce ministry and secretary of state at the mines and energy ministry. He is Supreme Court president Dith Munty’s son as well as brother-in-law of Environment Minister Say Sam Al.
7. Keo Piseth, CPP
Keo Piseth, 54 is an incumbent member of parliament for Tbong Khmum, and was the secretary of the assembly’s committee on ethics and justice. He was chief of National Assembly president Heng Samrin’s cabinet.
8. Chhay Rithisen, CPP
Chhay Rithisen, 53, was general director in the land ministry in the sixth mandate and a deputy director of the Board of Cambodia Architects. Rithisen, the son-in-law of Planning Minister Chhay Than, was initially the director of Phnom Penh’s land management department and takes credit for developing the capital’s 2020 master plan. He was the replacement for the previous Phnom Penh land department director Chea Srun, who was fired after several high-profile land disputes.
All Lawmakers
*Ages as of election day, July 23, 2023.
Party | Province | Name | Sex | Age* |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cambodian People’s Party | Banteay Meanchey | Ke Kim Yan | M | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Banteay Meanchey | Kousoum Saroeuth | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Banteay Meanchey | Y Long | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Banteay Meanchey | Nuom Sophoan | F | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Banteay Meanchey | Serei Kosal | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Banteay Meanchey | Kheng Sum | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Sar Kheng | M | 72 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Nhin Khorn | M | 72 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Lork Huor | M | 60 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Ang Vong Vathana | M | 74 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Chheang Vun | M | 72 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Keut Rith | M | 44 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Sak Setha | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Battambang | Chan Sophal | M | 65 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Yim Chhay Ly | M | 73 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Khieu Kanharith | M | 71 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Pan Sorasak | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Veng Sakhon | M | 62 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Hangchuon Naron | M | 61 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Lou Kimchhun | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Lun Limthai | M | 65 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Nguon Socheat | M | 51 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Cham | Ma Chhoeun | M | 69 |
Funcinpec | Kampong Cham | Nhoeun Raden | M | 37 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Chhnang | Kong Sam Ol | M | 86 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Chhnang | Ouk Rabun | M | 72 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Chhnang | Ker Chanmony | F | 64 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Chhnang | Ly Narun | M | 62 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Speu | Chhay Than | M | 75 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Speu | Hun Many | M | 40 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Speu | Satya Vuth | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Speu | Seng Nhak | M | 43 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Speu | Kheng Samvada | F | 66 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Speu | Sok Born | M | 71 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Thom | Chea Chanto | M | 71 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Thom | Thong Khon | M | 71 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Thom | Suos Yara | M | 49 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Thom | Khoeng Noupheap | M | 44 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampong Thom | Norng Veasna | M | 41 |
Funcinpec | Kampong Thom | Neang Channak | M | 39 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampot | Pen Simon | M | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampot | Un Sokunthea | F | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampot | Som Chen | M | 74 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampot | Nim Chantara | M | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampot | Cham Nimul | F | 43 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kampot | Math Seth | M | 42 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Hun Sen | M | 70 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Khuon Sodary | F | 70 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Aun Pornmoniroth | M | 57 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Prak Sokhonn | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Mao Phirun | M | 63 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Sun Chanthol | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Lim Kean Hor | M | 73 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Sok Chenda Sophea | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Vongsey Vissoth | M | 58 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kandal | Ty Sokun | M | 56 |
Funcinpec | Kandal | Kong Bandol | M | 47 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Koh Kong | Dom Yuk Hean | M | 70 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kratie | Prum Sokha | M | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kratie | Pech Bunthin | M | 78 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kratie | Sar Chamrong | M | 65 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Mondulkiri | Chan Yoeun | M | 72 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Hun Manet | M | 45 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Pa Socheatvong | M | 66 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Ith Samheng | M | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Mam Bunheng | M | 74 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Ing Kantha Phavi | F | 63 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Kep Chuktema | M | 72 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Lork Kheng | F | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Kruoch Sam An | F | 70 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Othsman Hassan | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Khut Chandara | M | 42 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Phnom Penh | Ly Chheng | M | 67 |
Funcinpec | Phnom Penh | Norodom Chakravuth | M | 53 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Preah Vihear | Meas Sophea | M | 68 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Cheam Yeap | M | 76 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Sar Sokha | M | 42 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Mom Sibon | M | 78 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Long Bunny | M | 53 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Cheam Pe A | M | 47 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Nhim Vanda | M | 75 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Sborng Sarath | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Heu Pavy | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Kong Salan | F | 65 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Prey Veng | Ouk Sethicheat | M | 54 |
Funcinpec | Prey Veng | Phoem Rong | M | 52 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Pursat | Suy Sem | M | 75 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Pursat | Keo Rattanak | M | 49 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Pursat | Ty Thany | M | 64 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Pursat | Keo Virak | M | 59 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Ratanakiri | Kith Try | M | 54 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Siem Reap | Tea Banh | M | 77 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Siem Reap | Seang Nam | M | 65 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Siem Reap | Tea Seiha | M | 42 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Siem Reap | Toek Reth Kamrong | F | 50 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Siem Reap | Chhim Ma | M | 66 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Siem Reap | Nou Phalla | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Preah Sihanouk | Say Sam Al | M | 43 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Preah Sihanouk | Toek Reth Samrach | M | 55 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Preah Sihanouk | So Khan Rithy Kun | M | 54 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Stung Treng | Loy Sophat | M | 74 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Svay Rieng | Men Sam An | F | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Svay Rieng | Duong Vanna | F | 70 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Svay Rieng | Chey Son | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Svay Rieng | Sam Dara | M | 59 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Svay Rieng | Ek Sovannphearak | F | 55 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Bin Chhin | M | 73 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Chea Vandeth | M | 51 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Nin Saphon | F | 75 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Mok Mareth | M | 75 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Sou Phirin | M | 70 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Chan Sarun | M | 75 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Ith Sok | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Takeo | Nou Sovanny | F | 66 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Kep | Cham Prasidh | M | 72 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Pailin | Y Chhean | M | 71 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Oddar Meanchey | Kun Kim | M | 69 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Heng Samrin | M | 89 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Chea Sophara | M | 71 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Vong Soth | M | 67 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Eang Sophalleth | M | 53 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Chay Borin | M | 50 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Dith Tina | M | 44 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Keo Piseth | M | 54 |
Cambodian People’s Party | Tbong Khmum | Chhay Rithisen | M | 53 |