PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Cambodia's newly formed Senate held its first session Thursday, and the country's president promised that the upper house will enhance the quality of governance and serve as an additional check on the executive.
The Senate, born out of a November coalition agreement that ended more than a year of political turmoil, has been blasted as an undemocratic and costly solution to finding a position in the new administration for Chea Sim, the aging leader of the ruling Cambodian People's Party.In his inaugural speech, Chea Sim told his 60 colleagues in the Senate that they have been empowered to be a moderator between the executive and the lawmaking National Assembly and a bridge between the Cambodian people and their government.
"In addition, the Senate can be used as a braking system or a counterweight to judicial errors in the state governance. It can inspire patience, wisdom and moderation. Unity, stability, permanence and normalcy will be the principles of the Senate," Chea Sim said on the new Senate floor.
The senators later donned traditional white tunics and green pantaloons for a swearing in ceremony at the Royal Palace, which was presided over by King Norodom Sihanouk and attended by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The 76-year-old king, rumored to be ailing, appeared in good health as he smiled and joked with attending diplomats before the ceremony.
In a speech to the new lawmakers, Sihanouk also acknowledged the Senate's critics by saying the new legislative body would be a strain on the national budget.