The Cambodian National Unity Party () was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

set up by the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

on 30 November 1992, during the

United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Cambodia in 1992–93 formed following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. This was the first occasion in which the UN directly assumed re ...

to participate in the elections that year. The party was led by

Khieu Samphan Khieu Samphan (; born 28 July 1931) is a Cambodian former communist politician and economist who was the chairman of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as Cambodia's head of state a ...

and

Son Sen Son Sen ( ; 12 June 1930 – 15 June 1997), alias Comrade Khieu () or "Brother Number 89", was a Cambodian Communist politician and soldier. A member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea/ Party of Democratic Kampuch ...

. It succeeded the

Party of Democratic Kampuchea The Party of Democratic Kampuchea was a political party in Cambodia, formed as a continuation of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in December 1981. In the mid-1980s, it publicly claimed that its ideology was "a new form of democratic socialism",A ...

after 1993. As with the PDK, the

National Army of Democratic Kampuchea The National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (NADK) was a Cambodian guerrilla force. NADK were the armed forces of the Party of Democratic Kampuchea also known as "Khmer Rouge", operating between 1979 and the late 1990s. History NADK was formed i ...

was said to be its armed wing. Its professed aim at its founding was to "work towards implementing multi-party liberal democracy."''The Europa World Year Book'' Volume I. Europa Publications Limited. 1997. p. 775. Its radio station was known as the Voice of the Great National Union Front of Cambodia until being replaced in July 1994 by PGNUNSC Radio. Despite its stated wish to contest the 1993 elections, the Khmer Rouge soon ran into various disputes with United Nations authorities in Cambodia, culminating in their desire to boycott the elections. Subsequently,

UNTAC The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Cambodia in 1992–93 formed following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. This was the first occasion in which the UN List of territories ...

decided not to conduct elections in areas under CNUP control. At the time it was estimated that approximately six percent of the population in Cambodia lived in areas under Khmer Rouge control. In July 1994, the PDK was declared illegal by the government, and the self-proclaimed " Provisional Government of National Union and National Salvation of Cambodia" was subsequently set up with involvement by CNUP members.Philip Short. ''Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare''. Macmillan. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. 2004. p. 434. In August 1996, the party suffered a split when

Ieng Sary Ieng Sary (; born Kim Trang; 24 October 1925 – 14 March 2013) was the co-founder and senior member of the Khmer Rouge and one of the main architects of the Cambodian genocide. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Par ...

and his followers in North-Western Cambodia broke away and founded the

Democratic National Union Movement The Democratic National Union Movement (DNUM) () was a Cambodian political party founded after senior Khmer Rouge official Ieng Sary's defection from the Cambodian National Unity Party in August 1996. A magazine entitled ''Phka Rik'' (Flower in Bl ...

. In May 1997, Khieu Samphan founded the Khmer National Solidarity Party after defecting from the Khmer Rouge.

References

{{Cambodian political parties 1992 establishments in Cambodia 1997 disestablishments in Cambodia Agrarian socialist parties Defunct political parties in Cambodia Khmer Rouge Political parties disestablished in 1997 Political parties established in 1992 Socialist parties in Cambodia