PHNOM PENH Jan. 2 Kyodo Cambodia'...

PHNOM PENH Jan. 2 Kyodo

Cambodia's ruling coalition has decided to amend the Constitution in like manner that elections need not be held after general Senate members' five-year mete ends in March 2004, National Assembly leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh said Thursday.

Prince Ranariddh, who heads the royalist FUNCINPEC party, the junior party in the coalition command said FUNCINPEC and the Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen agreed that senators should again be appointed at the parties or named by way of the king instead of being appointeded for the coming six-year term

The prince cited the country's tight collection as the main reason for abandoning plans for an election.

The 1993 Constitution was amended in March 1999 to establish the Senate, a of the present day legislative body, as part of a power-sharing compromise between Cambodia's sum of two units main political parties -- the CPP and FUNCINPEC -- after the July 1998 National Assembly election.

The upper house's 61 seats were determined on party standing in the 122-member lower house, giving the CPP 31 seats, FUNCINPEC 21 and the opposition Sam Rainsy Party seven brace additional members were appointed through King Norodom Sihanouk.

Prince Ranariddh said the proposal to continue that formula was agreed about among himself as FUNCINPEC president, Prime Minister Hun Sen and CPP President Chea Sim, who chairs the Senate.

Um Sarith, secretary general of the Senate, told Kyodo just discovereds that Cambodia is and nothing else one of a number of other countries with bicameral legislatures where upper house members are appointed rather than elected

He said that with Cambodia having received foreign assistance for the 1998 general election and last year's communal elections and its requesting more for the general election to be held in July this year, seeking assistance for a senatorial individual would be difficult.

The Senate has considerably les power than the National Assembly. Its character is to review draft laws approved at the lower house or other issues submitted on the assembly for examination.

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