A Baseline Survey of Sub-national Government: Towards a Better Understanding of Decentralisation and Deconcentration in Cambodia

As Cambodia’s decentralisation and deconcentration reform moves into its second stage, it is attracting close scrutiny from policy makers, donors and academics. Adoption of the Organic Law in 2008, in line with the reform strategy of 2005, paved the way for the first election in May 2009 of district1 and provincial councils which are to improve service delivery and facilitate local government. The establishment of these two administrative layers offers communes2 the opportunity to choose the councillors from whom they demand accountability, and introduces a new relationship between commune councillors and higher councils. District and provincial councillors took office more than a year ago, yet there is no available study of their relations with their voters, the commune councillors. With long-term funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, CDRI – through its Democratic Governance and Public Sector Reform programme – has undertaken a survey of relations between commune and district authorities in the new arrangement.