PHNOM PENH: Cambodian lawmakers voted Friday to elevate opposition chief Sam Rainsy to the rank of "minority leader", a first for a rival to premier Hun Sen who has enjoyed unassailable parliamentary power throughout his near three-decade rule.
The status -- which awaits royal endorsement -- means Rainsy enjoys the same rank in the lower house as the prime minister.
Rainsy hailed it as political "turning point" for his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) which has laboured to extract concessions from Hun Sen since accusing him of rigging a 2013 general election.
The CNRP boycotted parliament for nearly a year in protest at the election result which returned Hun sen to office.
But they took up their 55 seats in the National Assembly in July this year in return for a promise of electoral -- and parliamentary -- reforms following a deal with Hun Sen.
"This is a key turning point in politics. What we have called the opposition party is now recognised (by the government) in its roles, duties, and rights," Rainsy told reporters.
"Until recently the ruling party always tried to weaken the opposition," he said.
The amendment will create "mutual respect... and promote a new culture of dialogue" with Hun Sen, he added.
Hun Sen is regularly criticised by campaigners for ignoring human rights and stamping out dissent.
Experts say the concession to Rainsy is a tactic by a leader well drilled in boxing political opponents into a corner.
Earlier this month, he said the role of parliamentary minority leader was purely an "honorary" title.
"Making the new post... with no real power is a tactic used successfully by Hun Sen many times before in the past," Ou Virak, chairman of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, told AFP.
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