The Cambodian Senate has approved draft constitutional amendments restricting eligibility for four top government positions on the basis of citizenship. Under the amendments, dual citizens will be disqualified from holding the office of prime minister, president of the National Assembly, president of the Senate or president of the Constitutional Council.

According to a spokesperson, the purpose of the amendments is to ensure that the post-holders ‘have unwavering loyalty to the nation and the Cambodian people in every circumstance’, as well as ‘to ward off attempts by foreign powers to influence Cambodia’s national and foreign policies’.

This practice is by no means exceptional, even among states which otherwise permit dual citizenship. For example, while Australian citizens may concurrently hold the citizenship of another state, Section 44 of the country’s Constitution disqualifies anyone who ‘is a subject or a citizen […] of a foreign power’ from standing for election to parliament.

For further information on citizenship policies in Cambodia, check out our country profile pages.

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Featured image: Io Herodotus (CC-BY-SA-4.0)