Kampong Cham Province

Kampong Cham is a province of Cambodia located on the central lowlands of the Mekong River. It borders the provinces of Kampong Chhnang to the west, Kampong Thom and Kratié to the north, Tbong Khmum to the east, and Prey Veng and Kandal to the south. Kampong Cham was officially divided into two provinces on 31 December 2013 in what was seen by many as a political move by the ruling party.All land west of the Mekong remained Kampong Cham while land east of the river became Tbong Khmum province. Prior to this division, Kampong Cham extended eastward to the international border with Vietnam, was the 11th largest province in Cambodia and had a population of 1,680,694, ranked as the second most populated province in the nation. Its capital and largest city is Kampong Cham. Kampong Cham is home to the current Prime Minister, Hun Sen.

Administration

Kampong Cham is subdivided into 10 districts (srok) which in turn are subdivided into communes (khum) which are further divided into villages (phum).The province formerly consisted of 16 districts, however a request by Hun Sen's government to split the province in two was made after his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) lost the province to the opposition in the July 2013 elections. The CPP won only eight of the available 18 National Assembly seats in Hun Sen's home province. The request, which was ostensibly made in order to improve administrative efficiency in the large province, was approved by King Sihamoni on 31 December 2013. The 10 districts that remain in Khampong Cham province overwhelmingly voted for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, led by Sam Rainsy, while five of the six districts cut out from Kampong Cham to form Tbong Khmum Province were won solidly by the CPP.