Government
Call to boycott charter referendum will be illegal: EC
Campaigning to vote for or against the charter draft is legal but any efforts to call for a boycott of the referendum would be illegal, Election Commission (EC) member Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said on 25 February. Keep reading ...
Laos-US relations look to growing ties: US diplomat
Relations between Laos and the United States have been transforming towards growing ties, a US fellow and former US ambassador to Laos has noted. Adjunct Senior Fellow of the East-West Centre based in Hawaii, Charles B. Salmon Jr., made the comment during a recent meeting with ...
Voters give government mixed marks
Just a quarter of Cambodian voters are fully satisfied with the government’s efforts to deliver on its promises thus far in the fifth mandate, though more than half rated themselves partly so, according to the results of a nationwide survey conducted by election watchdog Comfrel. In ...
Four million people to vote in National Assembly election
Some four million citizens out of Laos’ population of about 6.4 million are eligible to vote in the upcoming election of members of the National Assembly (NA)’s Eighth Legislature. The National Election Committee (NCE) made the announcement on 22 February when briefing the media about the progress ...
Inefficiency slowing development along Lao-Viet border
Human resource development and awareness of self-ownership and self-reliance on the part of local authorities is inadequate and is hindering the progress of grassroots development projects. This finding was reported at a meeting in Vientiane on 19 February to review development progress in areas along the shared ...
Activists wary of next govt’s human rights record
With a Nobel Peace Laureate poised to lead the next government, human rights activists are concerned they are in line for a major disappointment. Andrew MacGregor, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he feared “we are in a honeymoon period”. Keep reading ...
Cambodia’s young seek change as demographics shift
Thy Sovantha, Cambodia’s youngest political star, is still seething. A charismatic student, she rocketed to fame during the 2013 elections when she backed the opposition’s effort to unseat Cambodia’s authoritarian ruler. Her Facebook page drew hundreds of thousands of followers, making her, at 18, perhaps the ...
Talks raise hopes, and fears, of a presidential deal
A third round of talks between military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has raised hopes among her supporters that the two sides can reach a power-sharing agreement over the presidency and new government. But ...
Information project eases Lao government decision making
The inaugural meeting of the cross-sectoral Steering Committee of the Lao Decide Info project took place in Vientiane on 17 February, to assess the progress of the project to date. Lao Decide Info plays a critical role in enhancing the quality of key information relating to ...
Xaysomboun appoints new provincial governor
Party Central Committee member Major General Thongloy Silivong was officially appointed on 16 February as the new Party Secretary of Xaysomboun province and provincial Governor. A ceremony to hand over the position between the former Party Secretary of Xaysomboun province and provincial Governor Dr Sombath Yialiher and ...
