As commune elections in 2017 loom closer, the commander of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit has been appointed to head a “strengthening committee” for the ruling party in Kandal province.

The statement, signed on January 10 by Hun Sen, appoints bodyguard chief Hing Bun Heang to head the Cambodian People’s Party’s strengthening committee in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district.

Meanwhile, Heng Ratana, director of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, was shuffled from the director of the strengthening committee in Kandal Stung to the second deputy director of the committee in Loeuk Dek district.

“This is effective from the signing date onwards,” the announcement reads.

CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said the moves were part of the CPP’s strategy to compete ahead of the elections, saying officials ‘‘must have a duty besides their core duty, and they need to strengthen the party because they are members of the party”.

In a report leaked from the CPP’s central committee congress earlier this month, CPP members at all levels were urged to strengthen the CPP’s local presence.