Cambodian People's Party

Cambodian People's Party
គណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា
Khmer nameគណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា
AbbreviationCPP
PresidentHun Sen
Vice PresidentsSay Chhum
Sar Kheng
Tea Banh
Men Sam An
Hun Manet
FoundersSon Ngoc Minh
Tou Samouth
Founded28 June 1951
(74 years, 259 days)
(original)
5 January 1979
(47 years, 68 days)
(reconstruction)
Split fromIndochinese Communist Party
Communist Party of Kampuchea (de facto)
Headquarters7 January Palace, 203 Norodom Boulevard, Phnom Penh
Youth wingPeople's Revolutionary Youth Union of Kampuchea
(1979–1989)
Central Youth of the Cambodian People's Party
(present)
Armed wingKampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces
(1979–1989)
Cambodian People's Armed Forces
(1989–1993)
Membership (2023) 7,100,000
Ideology
Political position
National affiliationKampuchean United Front for National Salvation
(1978–1981)
Kampuchean United Front for National Construction and Defence
(1981–2006)
Solidarity Front for Development of the Cambodian Motherland
(present)
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
Colors  Sky blue
Slogan"ឯករាជ្យ សន្តិភាព សេរីភាព ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ អព្យាក្រឹត និងវឌ្ឍនភាពសង្គម"
("Independence, Peace, Freedom, Democracy, Neutrality and Social Progress")
Anthem"បទចម្រៀងនៃគណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា"
("Anthem of the Cambodian People's Party")
Senate
55 / 62
National Assembly
120 / 125
Commune chiefs
1,648 / 1,652
Commune councillors
9,376 / 11,622
Provincial, municipal, town and district councillors
3,761 / 4,114
Provincial governors
25 / 25
Party flag
Website
cpp.org.kh

The Cambodian People's Party (CPP; Khmer: គណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា, romanizedKeanapak Pracheachon Kampuchea [keanapaʔ prɑciəcɔn kampuciə]) is a political party in Cambodia which has ruled the country since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP).

During the Cold War it allied itself with Vietnam and the Soviet Union, in contrast to the pro-Chinese Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) led by Pol Pot. After toppling the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea regime with the Vietnamese-backed liberation of Phnom Penh, it became the ruling party of the People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979–1989), which was later renamed the State of Cambodia (1989–1991). The party's current name was adopted during the final year of the State of Cambodia, when the party abandoned the one-party system and Marxism–Leninism.

Originally rooted in communist and Marxist–Leninist ideologies, the party took on a more reformist outlook in the mid-1980s under Heng Samrin. In 1991, the CPP officially dropped its commitment to socialism, and has since embraced a mixed economy. Along with some major parties of the European centre-right, the CPP is a member of the Centrist Democrat International. It presents itself as a big tent of supporters of the Prime Minister Hun Sen. Nevertheless, the party met with the Socialist International in 2004 and remains a close ally of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The CPP claims an official membership of more than 7 million members, making it one of the largest political parties in the world.

The party's rule has been described as authoritarian.