The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is holding a two-day Central Committee's Extraordinary Conference from July 16-17 to get input from party members from the district to the Central Committee level as they gear up for next year's national election.

The first day of the event was attended by 743 out of 865 Central Committee members along with the participation of 3,474 party members from the district to the national levels, as well as the party’s working groups.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, in his capacity as the president of the party, said that the conference is widely open to accepting input from party members of all levels to strengthen their organisation.

“[Hun Sen] stressed that this extraordinary conference is being held to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the party during the recent commune council election and debate those points in order to make plans for winning the national election in 2023,” said Hun Sen's Facebook post on July 16.

National Assembly President Heng Samrin, in his capacity as the Honorary President of the party, said that the results from the June 5 commune election, where the CPP got over 80 per cent of the votes cast, reflected the fact that people still needed their party to lead the country.

The first day of the event was attended by 743 out of 865 Central Committee members along with the participation of 3,474 party members from the district to the national levels, as well as the party’s working groups. SPM

He said the party has political righteousness, support from the people, strong leadership and human resources with virtue, capacity, solidarity, internal unity and a clear work structure.

“All of this allows the party to win despite all difficulties and especially to defeat all the tricks of the extremist opposition groups who always block the nation's progress and attempt to undermine the leadership of the CPP,” he said.

CPP vice-president and the party's secretary- general, Say Chhum, said that the recent commune council election shows that the CPP has the maturity to implement a multi-party democracy as stated in the country’s Constitution and laws.

“However, we must not be too proud of the election results. We must strive to continue our activities and to implement our policies, both for strengthening the party and building connections with the people. We must try to eliminate all activities that upset the people in order to ensure a strong base for our victory,” he said.