Prince Norodom Ranariddh has officially registered his new political faction, the Community of Royalist People’s Party, as a contender in the next national elections in 2018.

The party’s new chief of cabinet, Nop Sothearith, yesterday told the Post he submitted the application to run to the Ministry of Interior on May 5.

“I submitted an official application for the CRPP to the Ministry of Interior on [Monday], and we completed our application in accordance with the demands of the Law on Political Parties,” he said.

The CRPP, he added, has a long way to go to challenge the two major political parties – the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.

“We have to fight when we arrive in a boxing arena, even if we don’t know whether we will win or lose,” he said.

Ranariddh ruled in a coalition government with Prime Minister Hun Sen from 1993 to 1997 before being ousted during days of bloody street fighting.

But after so many years, “the prince has lost much credibility in his political leadership”, analyst Chea Vannath said.