Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni presided over the opening session of parliament on September 23, despite it only being attended by the ruling party's elected lawmakers following a boycott from the opposition's legislators.

All 68 legislators from the ruling Cambodian People' s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen were present at the opening session, while none of the 55 representatives from the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) made an appearance.

Disputes over the country’s recent election results have led to the CNRP launching a number of protests, including the boycott of parliament. An initially peaceful protest held in the capital Phnom Penh last week ended up with protestors and police clashing, leaving one dead and several wounded.

As a result, security has been stepped up around official buildings in recent days, with anti-riot police and barbed wire deployed along roads near parliament.

Foreign diplomats were invited to the opening event. Among them were Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Ngo Anh Dung and his counterparts from ASEAN member nations, and China, the US, France, the UK and Australia.

High on the session’s agenda was the adoption of the list of new parliamentarians and their working regulations.

In his speech, King Norodom Sihamoni called on all newly-elected lawmakers to hold the country's interests as their top priority and unite for the good of Cambodia.

In accordance with the constitution, a party has the right to form a new government if it gets a 50 percent plus one majority in the parliament, equivalent to 63 lawmakers.

The new CPP government led by Hun Sen is expected to be formed on September 24.-VNA