Bangkok‑Style Bold Move: Cambodia Tightens Grip on Dual‑Nationality Gov’t Positions
On Monday, October 25, Cambodia’s parliament stamped the nation’s constitution with a fresh tweak: anyone juggling more than one passport can’t hold the country’s highest leadership posts—prime minister, senate and house speakers, and the head of the Constitutional Council are in the strict single‑citizenship camp.
Hun Sen’s “Nation‑First” Mandate
Prince Hun Sen, the country’s long‑running monarch‑in‑charge, gave the justice ministry a clear order on the 6th to make the legal edit. “It’s about showing unwavering loyalty to the homeland and cutting off any foreign meddling,” he said, sounding a bit like a character scrolling through a cautionary policy document.
High‑Profile Rhetoric
President Heng Samrin of the National Assembly channeled grandstanding on Facebook. “Our constitutional machinery—Assembly, Senate, the Royal Government, and the Constitutional Council—are the bloodline of sovereignty,” he declared. “We’re not taking any detours towards foreign influence.”
Beyond the Headlines
A few days before, The Guardian mistakenly listed Hun Sen among the bunch of non‑Europeans acquiring Cypriot passports. The correction was swift: it turned out his inner circle—family, police, business elites—had snagged the passports through Cyprus’s citizenship‑by‑investment scheme. Yet the story sparked a fire‑alarm about sovereignty and whether the king‑in‑chief was finally biting the bullet.
Opposition Voices—It’s a Gamble
Sam Rainsy, a French‑based guy who chose Paris to dodge Cambodian convictions, emailed Reuters on Monday. “This law strips the next wave of potential leaders of the chance to bring their hyphen‑culture experience home,” he said. “Many Cambodians abroad have succeeded in foreign lands; we’re basically holding back future vintners.”
With the rule dawned denial that dual‑citizenship could become a footnote in Cambodia’s political saga. Whether this keeps the leaders more domestically focused, or tight‑ropes a key talent pool, remains a dice roll for the next elected chapter.
