PHNOM PENH, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's National Assembly, or the lower house, on Monday elected two royalist Funcinpec party members, Chea Chantevy and Suon Mean, to fill vacant positions in the Senate.
Some 114 out of the 123 lawmakers were present at the voting session, and 104 of them voted in favor of the two candidates, as the rest voted against or abstained.
"According to the vote results, I would like to declare solemnly that Her Excellency Chea Chantevy and His Excellency Suon Mean were elected as the members of the Senate in the (upcoming) fourth mandate," National Assembly President Heng Samrin announced after the vote.
The Senate, or the upper house, has 62 seats, but the vote was held for 58 seats only, as two senators had been appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni and two others were nominated by the National Assembly.
On Feb. 19, the king appointed his half-sister and advisor Princess Norodom Arun Rasmey and Oum Somanin, an official working at the Royal Palace, to the Senate.
In the Senate election on Feb. 25, the ruling Cambodian People's Party won all 58 Senate seats at stake.
Mam Bun Neang, a spokesman of the Senate, said the Senate would hold its first session on April 23 under the auspices of King Norodom Sihamoni.
"The Senate will hold its first session on April 23 in the morning and on the same day in the afternoon, all senators will go to swear in at the Royal Palace," he told Xinhua.
The Senate was founded in 1999, with each mandate lasting for six years.
