PHNOM PENH: The Senate has fully agreed to amend the constitution on Tuesday, requiring the country’s top leaders to have a single citizenship – only Khmer. The top leaders specified for the amendment includes the President of the Senate, the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and the President of the Constitutional Council. The plenary session held on Tuesday morning garnered a vote of 57/57.

The draft Constitutional Law on the Amendment of Articles 19 New, 82 New, 106 New (a), 119 new and Article 137 new and Article 3 and 4 of the additional constitution. The amendment was approved by the Council of Ministers on 8 October and was approved by the National Assembly on 25 October. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure the normal functioning of national institutions, as well as to show loyalty to the nation and avoid foreign interference.

After the Senate, the draft law will be sent to the King for official promulgation. On October 11, His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni authorized Prime Minister Hun Sen to continue the process of amending the constitution. The move the initiated by Prime Minister Hun Sen last month following an erroneous report from the British newspaper, the Guardian, publishing that the Cambodian Prime Minister owns a Cypriot passport.