Two governments compete for internal legitimacy and for international recognition: Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK--see Appendix B) and People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK--see Appendix B.).
CGDK: Tripartite coalition consisting of Party of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK--see Appendix B, or Khmer Rouge--see Appendix B), and two noncommunist movements, Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF--see Appendix B) and National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (Front Uni National pour un Cambodge Indépendant, Neutre, Pacifique, et Coopératif--FUNCINPEC--see Appendix B). CGDK recognized internationally by the United Nations and a few noncommunist states; controls little territory except inaccessible guerrilla areas in northeastern and southwestern Cambodia; administers some camps along Thai border.
Government: A president and a prime minister; vicepresident in charge of foreign affairs, and at next subordinate echelon, six coordinating committees established: culture and education, national defense, national economy and finance, public health and social affairs, military affairs, and press and information affairs.
Politics: Coalition partners exist in uneasy alliance, united only by opposition to Vietnamese occupation forces and government in Phnom Penh; coordinating committees staffed by one member from each movement comprising CGDK.
Major International Memberships: United Nations and many of its specialized agencies; Asian Development Bank, Group of 77, General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, World Bank (see Glossary), International Monetary Fund (see Glossary), Interpol, International Red Cross, International Telecommunications Union, and Nonaligned Movement.
PRK:Constitutes the government in Phnom Penh which exercises de facto control over most of Cambodian territory; recognized internationally by about three dozen Marxist and nonaligned states and revolutionary movements.
Government: Marxist government evolving toward socialism, sustained by large Vietnamese military presence. National Assembly, 117 members defined constitutionally as "supreme organ of state power," and body in which legislative authority vested; assembly selects members of Council of State that promulgates and interprets laws, the chairman of which serves as head of state; Council of State acts as secretariat for National Assembly and performs some assembly functions between parliamentary sessions. Council of Ministers, also responsible to National Assembly, exercises direct executive authority for administering government of the PRK down to local levels.
Politics: Kampuchean (or Khmer) People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP--see Appendix B) only political party permitted in late 1987 in areas under Phnomh Penh's control; functions at national level through Political Bureau (nine full and two candidate members) and Central Committee (thirty-one full and fourteen candidate members); mass auxiliary organizations foster patriotism and nurture party activism among population; most prominent of organization Kampuchean (or Khmer) United Front for National Construction and Defense (KUFNCD--see Appendix B); both KPRP and KUFNCD active down to local level and maintain nationwide network of committees at all provincial and district echelons. Other mass organizations include Kampuchean Federation of Trade Unions, Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Youth Union, Kampuchean Revolutionary Women's Association, and Kampuchean Revolutionary Youth Association.
Administrative Divisions: Two municipalities (Phnom Penh and Kampong Saom); eighteen provinces, subdivided into about 122 districts.
Legal System: Ministry of Justice, Office of Public Prosecutor, and People's Supreme Court exist at national level; at subordinate echelons, people's revolutionary courts established at provincial and municipal levels; court officials include president, vice-president and people's councillors. Separate system of military tribunals exist for armed forces, but in 1987 functions remained unknown.
Major International Memberships: None; nevertheless, government in Phnom Penh receives assistance from a number of communist and nonaligned states and from private international humanitarian organizations. Close bilateral relationship exists with Vietnam as result of Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation signed in February 1979.
Data as of December 1987