Following their September induction, new and returning members of the National Assembly participated in an intensive orientation course designed to identify key roles and responsibilities of the nation’s new lawmakers, and provide an overview on democratic governance.

 

The innovative workshop was planned and conducted by the Technical Coordination Secretariat (TCS), a new office in Parliament which manages, coordinates and promotes development partner assistance. The TCS is made up of a cadre of parliamentary staff from both the Senate and the National Assembly together with senior technical advisors provided by UNDP.

More than 200 elected representatives from both the National Assembly and Senate, as well as secretariat staff members, attended the event, signaling “a great start” to the beginning of the Cambodian Parliament's 4th Mandate, UNDP Senior Parliamentary Advisor Susan Cowley said.

 “It was a useful overview to new MPs and also an opportunity for returning, experienced MPs to refresh their knowledge and enrich the experience of the new comers,” she said.

The orientation covered a range of topics, from practical logistical issues, such as vehicle parking space and other supporting services, to substantive topics relating to the daily running of parliamentary institutions in a democratic society.

Sessions outlined the relationship between parliament and civil society; parliamentary rules, procedures, privileges and protocols; priorities of constituents; the National Assembly’s roles in the legislative process; and the role of the opposition. It featured several Cambodian and foreign speakers, including Paul McGrath, a former MP of the Irish Parliament. He spoke about separation of powers in democratic countries and about code of conducts of MPs in representing their constituents.

Opening the two-day workshop, National Assembly President Heng Samrin informed his colleagues about the “many challenges” that would require them “to balance” the needs of their constituents, their political parties and the Parliament as an institution, as they went about fulfilling their representative, legislative and oversight roles.

The National Assembly comprises 123 members from the Cambodian People’s Party, Sam Rainsy Party, Human Rights Party, Norodom Ranariddh Party and Funcinpec Party. While many MPs in the new Parliament have returned to their roles, and are experienced parliamentarians, for some elected MPs, this is their first term in office. The workshop was tailored to meet the needs of both new and experienced parliamentarians.

The workshop was the first multi-development partner activity coordinated by the new TCS office, with the support of the UNDP Senior Parliamentary Advisor.  Development partners included UNDP, German’s development agency Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF), CIDA's Cambodia-Canada Legislative Support Project (CCLSP).  Another first for the Parliament was a civil society fair, which took place in the lobby of the Parliament during the orientation program. The CSO Fair provided new and returning MPs with an opportunity to better understand the work of civil society in Cambodia. In addition, it provided the CSO participants with a unique opportunity to show-case their work before these important stakeholders and to promote relationship building.