On August 19, 1997, an inter-ministerial meeting was held at the Office of the Council of Ministers and chaired by H.E. Mr. Sum Manith and H.E. Mr. Nov Kanonn, Co-Secretaries of State in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers, to examine the Bill on the election law.

The draft law, consists of 12 Chapters and 137 Articles, determines the manner, procedure, and management of the election to choose members of National Assembly by basing on the principles of liberal democracy and pluralism.

This draft law was prepared by an expert team of the Ministry of Interior and was approved by the said Ministry.

According to the draft law, the election of a new Assembly should be held on May every 5 years. The management of the election is put under the competence of the National Electoral Committee. The deputies shall be elected by a free, universal, equal,direct and secret ballot. The election shall base on proportional system with province and city using as electoral circumscriptions. The draft law also bars active members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, the Military Police, and the National Police from voting and from standing as candidates for the election.

Once approved by the inter-ministerial committee, the draft law will be submitted to the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly for debate and approval in the near future.