PHNOM PENH, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Thursday that he and other political party leaders have agreed to form a Supreme Council for Consultations and Recommendations, which will serve as a consultation forum between the government and political parties on the matters of national interests.
Hun Sen said he initiated the establishment of the council during a meeting on Tuesday with the leaders of 16 political parties out of the 20 parties that took part in the July 29 general election.
"The leaders of those political parties have provided their full support for this initiative," the 67-year-old prime minister said in a speech during a get-together with about 17,500 garment factory workers in southern Kandal province.
"Although the people have given entire power to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), in both the parliament and the government, I need to mobilize human resources and idea resources for the sake of national development," he said.
Hun Sen said the council will be formed by a royal decree, and it has duties to provide opinion on government policies, give feedback on draft laws and report on inaction or violations by government officials.
The prime minister said the council, to be presided by a rotating chairperson among political parties every month, will hold a consultation forum with him once every six months.
The council members will receive a salary from the national budget.
Twenty political parties contested in the sixth general election on July 29. The official results indicated that Hun Sen's CPP won all 125 seats in the parliament.
Through the victory, Hun Sen will continue to lead the government for another five years. He said a new parliament and a new government will be formed on Sept. 5 and 6, respectively.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said that he will ask the nation's King Norodom Sihamoni to grant a large-scale pardon to 12 former opposition prisoners.
He did not give the names of those prisoners, but said that the upcoming pardon is made because of his mercy toward them, not because of international pressure.
On Monday, the prime minister also asked the king to pardon jailed prominent land rights activist Tep Vanny and three of her fellow activists.
