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FUNCINPEC

The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia, commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC, is a royalist political party in Cambodia. Founded in 1981 by Norodom Sihanouk, it began as a resistance movement against the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) government. In 1982, it formed a resistance pact with the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), together with the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) and the Khmer Rouge. It became a political party in 1992.

FUNCINPEC was one of the signatories of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, which paved the way for the formation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). The party participated in the 1993 general elections organised by UNTAC. It won the elections, and formed a coalition government with the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), with which it jointly headed. Norodom Ranariddh, Sihanouk's son who had succeeded him as the party president, became First Prime Minister while Hun Sen, who was from the CPP, became Second Prime Minister.

In July 1997, violent clashes occurred between factional forces separately allied to FUNCINPEC and the CPP, leading to Ranariddh's ouster from his position as First Prime Minister. Ranariddh subsequently returned from exile in March 1998 and led the party to the 1998 general elections, which was won by CPP with FUNCINPEC as the first runner-up. Subsequently, FUNCINPEC joined CPP again, this time as a junior partner in a coalition government. Ranariddh was appointed as the President of the National Assembly, a post which he held until 2006 when he was ousted from FUNCINPEC by the party's former secretary-general Nhek Bun Chhay.

FUNCINPEC saw its share of voters and seats in the national assembly drop over the general elections of 2003, 2008 and 2013, with the party failing to win a single seat in the National Assembly at the 2013 general elections. In January 2015, Ranariddh returned to FUNCINPEC, and was reappointed as the party's president. The current acting president is Norodom Ranariddh's son, Prince Norodom Chakravuth.

Name
"FUNCINPEC" is a French acronym for "Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique, et coopératif", which translates as "National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia" in English. It is commonly known by its acronym, used in the form of a word.

1980s
On 21 March 1981, Sihanouk founded FUNCINPEC, a royalist resistance movement, from Pyongyang, North Korea. Over the next few months, Sihanouk forged closer ties with the Chinese government as he saw the need of gathering resistance armies sympathetic to FUNCINPEC, such as MOULINAKA (Movement for the National Liberation of Kampuchea). He had resisted earlier attempts between 1979 till 1981 by the Chinese government for him to forge political alliances with the Khmer Rouge, whom he had accused of killing his own family members during the Cambodian genocide. He reconsidered his position over allying with the Khmer Rouge, with whom they shared a common goal of ousting the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) government, which was under Vietnam's influence. In September 1981, Sihanouk met with Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) leader Son Sann and Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan to establish the framework for a coalition government-in-exile. Subsequently, on 22 June 1982, the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed, and Sihanouk was made its President.

In September 1982, Armee Nationale Sihanoukiste (ANS) was formed by the merger of several pro-FUNCINPEC resistance armies, including MOULINAKA. Ties between FUNCINPEC with the KPNLF and Khmer Rouge remained tenuous. On the one hand, Son Sann publicly criticised Sihanouk on several occasions, while on the other hand, the Khmer Rouge army periodically attacked the ANS, prompting Sihanouk in threatening to quit as CGDK's president on at least two occasions in June 1983 and July 1985. In December 1987, Sihanouk met with the Prime Minister of the PRK government, Hun Sen in France. The following year in July 1988, the first informal meeting was held in Jakarta, Indonesia between the four warring Cambodian factions consisting of FUNCINPEC, Khmer Rouge, KPNLF and the PRK government. The meetings were held with a view to end the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, and two additional meetings were later held which became known as the Jakarta Informal Meetings (JIM).

In August 1989, Sihanouk stepped down as the President of FUNCINPEC and was succeeded by Nhiek Tioulong. At the same time, Ranariddh was made the Secretary-General of the party. In September 1990, the four warring Cambodian factions reached an agreement to form the Supreme National Council (SNC), an organisation designed to oversee Cambodia's sovereign affairs in the United Nations on an interim basis. The SNC consisted of twelve members from the four warring Cambodian factions, with two seats going to FUNCINPEC. Sihanouk negotiated to become the 13th member of the SNC, a proposal which Hun Sen initially rejected, but later acceded after Sihanouk relinquished his FUNCINPEC party membership in July 1991. Sihanouk was elected as the chairman of the SNC, and the SNC seats under FUNCINPEC's quota were filled up by Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy. When the Paris Peace Accords were signed in October 1991, Ranariddh represented the party as its signatory.

1993 elections
Ranariddh was elected as FUNCINPEC's president in February 1992. Subsequently, in August 1992, FUNCINPEC formally registered itself as a political party under the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) administration, and started opening party offices across Cambodia the following month. Party offices and officials were harassed and attacked by State of Cambodia (SOC) secret police and military intelligence officials. Between November 1992 and January 1993, 18 FUNCINPEC officials were killed and another 22 officials wounded, prompting Ranariddh to call on UNTAC to intervene and end the violence. UNTAC responded by setting up a special prosecutor's office to investigate cases of political violence, but faced resistance from the SOC police in arresting and prosecuting offenders. Most of the violent attacks occurred in the Kampong Cham and Battambang provinces, whereby the governor in the latter province, Ung Sami was found to have been directly involved in the attacks. When UNTAC allowed election campaigns to start in April 1993, FUNCINPEC held few election rallies due to intimidations from SOC police. They campaigned through low-key methods, such as using pick-up trucks to travel around the country and broadcast political messages as well as sending party workers to visit villages in the countryside.

FUNCINPEC had 400,000 members by the time UNTAC allowed political parties to start election campaigns on 7 April 1993. They campaigned on the party's historical relations with Sihanouk as well as Ranariddh's blood ties to his father. Party supporters wore yellow T-shirts depicting Sihanouk, and made rallying calls that "a vote for FUNCINPEC was a vote for Sihanouk". Sihanouk remained popular with the majority of the Cambodian electorate, and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the successor party to the PRK and SOC governments, was aware of such voter sentiments. In their editorials, the CPP emphasised their efforts to bring about Sihanouk's return to the country in 1991, as well as policy parallels between the CPP and the Sangkum, the political organisation which Sihanouk had led in the 1950s and 1960s.

Voting was carried out between 23 and 28 May 1993 and FUNCINPEC secured 45.47% of all valid votes cast, which entitled them to take up 58 out of 120 seats in the constituent assembly FUNCINPEC obtained the most seats in Kampong Cham, Kandal and Phnom Penh. The CPP came in second place and secured 38.23% of valid votes, and were unhappy with the outcome of the elections. On 3 June 1993, CPP leaders Chea Sim and Hun Sen met with Sihanouk to propose that he should lead a new interim government, and also demanding power-sharing for the CPP with FUNCINPEC on a fifty-fifty basis. Sihanouk agreed to the CPP's proposal and announced the formation of an interim government that evening. Ranariddh and other FUNCINPEC leaders were not consulted over Sihanouk's proposal, and the announcement caught them by surprise. Ranariddh sent a fax to his father to disapprove of the CPP's proposal, and the United States expressed a similar stance. Sihanouk publicly rescinded his earlier announcement of the interim government's formation the following day.

On 10 June 1993, Chakrapong led a secession movement and threatened to form a breakaway state consisting of seven eastern Cambodian provinces. Chakrapong had by then joined the CPP was supported by the interior minister, General Sin Song and Hun Sen's older brother, Hun Neng. The secession movement pressured Ranariddh to accede to CPP's request for power-sharing, and Hun Sen subsequently persuaded his brother to drop the secession movement. Four days later, the first constituent assembly meeting was held which saw an interim government being formed, with Hun Sen and Ranariddh serving as co-Prime Ministers in a dual Prime Ministership arrangement. There were a total of thirty-three cabinet posts available, while the CPP got sixteen, FUNCINPEC got thirteen and the other coalition partners got the four remaining posts available. When Sihanouk was re-instated as the King of Cambodia on 24 September 1993, he formalised the power-sharing arrangement by appointing Ranariddh as the First Prime Minister and Hun Sen as the Second Prime Minister in the new government.

Ranariddh's co-premiership
The new government shrunk the number of cabinet portfolios to 23, equally divided between FUNCINPEC and CPP. Each took eleven ministries under their charge while the BLDP was allocated one cabinet post. The CPP gave away half of all provincial governor posts available to FUNCINPEC, but kept most of the local government posts consisting of district and commune chiefs as well as civil service positions to its party appointees. Ranariddh developed a good working relationship with Hun Sen, which was maintained until March 1996. The UN secretary-general's representative to Cambodia, Benny Widyono noted that while both of them appeared together in public functions, Hun Sen held more political sway as compared to Ranariddh in the government. In October 1994, Ranariddh and Hun Sen sacked Sam Rainsy as FUNCINPEC's finance minister after he repeatedly leaked confidential documents and corruption in a public manner. Rainsy's sacking upset Norodom Sirivudh, the secretary-general for FUNCINPEC and Minister of Foreign Affairs to resign from his ministerial post at the same time. Rainsy continued to criticise the government in his capacity as a Member of Parliament (MP), and Ranariddh introduced a motion to expel Rainsy from the National Assembly and FUNCINPEC.

In October 1995, Sirivudh talked about his desire to assassinate Hun Sen during an interview with So Naro, who was the secretary-general of the Khmer Journalists Association. A few days later Ung Phan, a FUNCINPEC minister who had close ties with Hun Sen, called Sirivudh and accused him of getting involved in receiving kickbacks for printing Cambodian passports. Sirivudh angrily denied the accusations and threatened to kill Hun Sen over the phone. The phone conversation was recorded, and Ung Phan passed the recorded phone conversation to CPP co-minister of the interior Sar Kheng. Hun Sen learnt of the conversation and became enraged at Sirivudh's comments, and pressured Ranariddh and other FUNCINPEC ministers to strip his parliamentary immunity so that he could be arrested. Sirivudh was arrested and briefly placed in detention, but subsequently exiled to France when Sihanouk intervened in the case.

The following January, FUNCINPEC held a closed-door seminar at Sihanoukville, attended by selected party members close to Ranariddh. The attendees expressed concern of CPP's attempts to dominate over FUNCINPEC, and a resolution was adopted to build up the military strength of pro-FUNCINPEC forces within the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF). At the same time, party members had become increasingly resentful at Ranariddh for not getting party posts despite campaigning for the party in the 1993 elections. When the party congress was held on 22 March 1996, Ranariddh criticized the CPP, complaining over a range of issues that ranged from delays in allocating local government posts to FUNCINPEC officials, to the lack of executive authority of FUNCINPEC cabinet ministers vis-a-vis their CPP counterparts. Ranariddh threatened to dissolve the National Assembly and hold elections, should FUNCINPEC's concerns be ignored. Subsequently, the CPP issue an official statement to protest Ranariddh's criticisms.

Hun Sen developed a belligerent attitude toward Ranariddh and FUNCINPEC, calling him a "real dog" at a CPP party meeting in June 1996. Several months later in January 1997, Ranariddh led FUNCINPEC to forge a political alliance, the National United Front (NUF), with the Khmer Nation Party, Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party and the Khmer Neutral Party. The CPP condemned NUF's formation, and proceeded to form a rival political coalition consisting of political parties ideologically aligned to the former Khmer Republic. Tensions between FUNCINPEC and the CPP worsened even further when armed clashes between Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) troops separately aligned to FUNCINPEC and CPP broke out at Battambang Province on 10 February 1997. On that day, troops under the command of the FUNCINPEC provincial deputy governor, Serey Kosal encountered a convoy of 200 pro-CPP troops who were travelling en route to Samlout. After Serey Kosal's troops disarmed the pro-CPP troops, news of the incident spread to nearby areas and fighting soon broke out between troops from both rival factions, leaving at least 21 troops dead.

On 14 April 1997, Ung Phan announced that he and twelve other FUNCINPEC MPs had decided to break away from the party. Hun Sen applauded the move, pledging support for any initiative within the party to oust Ranariddh as its president. Subsequently, FUNCINPEC's steering committee quickly moved to woo back the defecting MPs, successfully getting back eight of them. At the same time, they expelled the five remaining MPs who refused to comply, including Ung Phan. Subsequently, on 1 June 1997, the renegade MPs convened a rival party congress dubbed as "FUNCINPEC II", which was attended by 800 people. At the congress, the attendees voted for Toan Chhay, the governor of Siem Reap province, as its new president. At the same time, the attendees accused Ranariddh of gross incompetence, who in return declared the congress as illegal and accused the CPP of interfering in the party's affairs.

Ranariddh's ouster and 1998 elections
On 5 July 1997, RCAF troops separately aligned to CPP and FUNCINPEC fought in Phnom Penh, leading to the latter's defeat the following day. Ranariddh, who had sought refuge in France just two days before the fighting was labelled as a "criminal" and "traitor" by Hun Sen for attempting to "destabilise Cambodia". Subsequently, on 11 July 1997, Loy Sim Chheang, FUNCINPEC's First Vice President of the National Assembly, proposed for another FUNCINPEC MP to replace Ranariddh as the First Prime Minister. Five days later, FUNCINPEC's foreign minister Ung Huot was nominated to take his place. When a National Assembly session was held on 6 August 1997, Ung Huot's appointment was endorsed by 90 MPs, consisting of CPP MPs and FUNCINPEC MPs who have switched allegiances to Hun Sen. At the same time, 29 FUNCINPEC MPs who remained loyal to Ranariddh, boycotted the session.

Shortly after Ung Huot's appointment, Toan Chhay who had proclaimed himself as the president of the FUNCINPEC at a rival congress in June 1997, jockeyed for control over the party leadership with Nady Tan, another FUNCINPEC leader who remained sympathetic to Ranariddh. In October 1997, FUNCINPEC supporters allied to Nady Tan proposed renaming the party to "Sangkum Thmei", hoping to capitalise on the electorate's popularity with the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, Sihanouk's political party when he was in power. While FUNCINPEC did not adopt a new name, the name "Sangkum Thmei" was adopted by a splinter party, led by Loy Sim Chheang who later left FUNCINPEC by February 1998. At the same time, Ung Huot followed suit, and formed another splinter party known as "Reastr Niyum".

In early March 1998, a military court convicted Ranariddh guilty of smuggling weapons and causing instability to the country, sentencing him to a total of 35 years of imprisonment. After ASEAN and the European Union stepped in to condemn the sentences, Ranariddh was pardoned of all charges, allowing him to return to Cambodia on 30 March 1998 to prepare for the general elections scheduled to be held in July 1998, allowing Ranariddh to spearhead FUNCINPEC's election campaign. When campaigning for started in late June 1998, FUNCINPEC focused on pro-monarchial sentiments, improving living standards and anti-Vietnamese rhetoric. The party faced numerous obstacles, including loss of access to television and radio channels which had come under CPP's exclusive control following the 1997 clashes, and the difficulties of its supporters in getting to party rallies. When the results were announced on 5 August 1998, FUNCINPEC secured 31.7% of all valid votes, which translates to 43 seats in the National Assembly, lagging behind the CPP which polled 41.4% of the votes and secured 64 seats.

As the CPP required a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to form a government, it offered FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), which had come in third place in the elections, to become joint partners of a coalition government. Both Ranariddh and Rainsy, now the leader of his eponymous party refused, and filed complaints against election irregularities to the National Election Committee (NEC). When the NEC turned down their complaints, they organised public protests between 24 August until 7 September 1998, when riot police stepped in to break them up. Subsequently, Sihanouk meditated two meetings in September and November 1998, leading to a political deal being struck between CPP and FUNCINPEC in the second meeting. The deal provided for another coalition government between CPP and FUNCINPEC, with the latter as a junior coalition partner controlling the tourism, justice, education, health, culture and women's-cum-veteran's affairs portfolios. In exchange for FUNCINPEC's support for Hun Sen to become the sole Prime Minister, Ranariddh was made the President of the National Assembly.

Continued co-operation with CPP and Ranariddh's sacking

After becoming the President of the National Assembly, Ranariddh supported the creation of the Cambodian Senate, which was formally established in March 1999. The senate had a total of 61 seats, of which 21 seats were allocated to FUNCINPEC, based on proportional representation vis-a-vis the National Assembly. Over the next few years until 2002, FUNCINPEC maintained cordial ties with the CPP, to which Ranariddh described it as an "eternal partner" during FUNCINPEC's party congress in March 2001. Subsequently, in July 2001, Ranariddh welcomed Sirivudh back into the FUNCINPEC and reappointed him as its secretary-general. The following month, FUNCINPEC replaced several cabinet ministers, governors, and deputy governors from its party. As the deputy secretary general of FUNCINPEC, Nhek Bun Chhay saw it, the reshuffles were done to increase the voters' confidence in the party and prepare for the commune council elections and general elections, which were scheduled to take place in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

When the commune elections were held in February 2002, FUNCINPEC performed poorly, winning control over 10 out of a total of 1,621 communes across Cambodia. Subsequently, rifts within the party boiled into the open as Khan Savoeun, a Deputy Commander-in-chief of the RCAF, accused its co-Minister of the Interior, You Hockry of practising nepotism and corruption. At the same time, Hang Dara and Norodom Chakrapong – the latter had returned to FUNCINPEC in March 1999 – formed their own splinter parties and took along a large number of FUNCINPEC party members. A year later in July 2003, The general elections were held, and took 20.8% of the votes, which entitled them to 26 seats in the National Assembly. While the CPP won the election, it still lacked the constitutional requirement of having a two-thirds majority on its own in forming a new government without the support of other coalition partners.

Subsequently, in August 2003, Ranariddh and Rainsy joined hands once again, forming a political alliance known as the "Alliance of Democrats". While the AD agreed to the idea of a coalition government between the CPP, FUNCINPEC and Rainsy's SRP, they also called for Hun Sen to step down as Prime Minister, and reforming the NEC, which the AD claimed that it was filled with CPP's appointees. Hun Sen balked at accepting AD's demands, leading to several months of political stalemate. During this time, several party activists from FUNCINPEC and SRP were killed, purportedly by henchmen linked to the CPP. At the same time, several FUNCINPEC officials have obtained loans from CPP-linked businessmen which they had used for financing their own election campaigns. These officials lobbied Ranariddh into accepting the idea of a CPP-FUNCINPEC coalition government so as to secure government positions and repay their loans.

Ranariddh eventually acceded in June 2004, walking out of his political alliance with Rainsy and agreed to the idea of a CPP-FUNCINPEC coalition government with Hun Sen remaining in his position as Prime Minister. At the same time, Hun Sen coaxed Ranariddh into supporting a constitutional amendment known as a "package vote", which required MPs to support legislation and ministerial appointments by an open show of hands. While Ranariddh acquiesced to Hun Sen's demand, the "package vote" amendment was opposed by the SRP, Sihanouk and CPP President Chea Sim. Ranariddh's decision to join hands with the CPP was criticised by many FUNCINPEC leaders such as Mu Sochua, subsequently leading to their resignation from the party. On 2 March 2006, the National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment which required only a simple majority of parliamentarians to support a government, instead of the two-thirds majority that was previously stipulated. After the amendment was passed, Hun Sen abruptly fired Norodom Sirivudh and Nhek Bun Chhay, who were FUNCINPEC's co-minister of interior and co-minister of defense. Ranariddh protested the dismissals, resigning as the President of the National Assembly and left Cambodia for France.

After Ranariddh's departure, FUNCINPEC splintered into two camps – one camp by members loyal to Ranariddh, while another camp consisted of members that were allied to Nhek Bun Chhay, who by now had become the party's secretary-general and closely associated with Hun Sen. Hun Sen started attacking Ranariddh, accusing the latter of eloping with Ouk Phalla, a former Apsara dancer in getting her own friends and family members into government posts. At the same time, party leaders from both rival camps started quarreling publicly, with Serey Kosal, a FUNCINPEC minister seen to be allied to Ranariddh, accusing Nhek Bun Chhay of attempting to topple Ranariddh. When an extraordinary congress was held on 18 October 2006, Ranariddh was dismissed as FUNCINPEC's president, who was in turn replaced by his brother-in-law, Keo Puth Rasmey. Nhek Bun Chhay justified Ranariddh's ouster on the grounds of his deteriorating relations with Hun Sen as well as his practice of spending prolonged periods of time overseas.

Interregnum years
On 9 November 2006, Nhek Bun Chhay filed a lawsuit accusing Ranariddh of pocketing $3.6 million from the sale of its headquarters to the French embassy in 2005. Within days, Ranariddh returned to Cambodia, and announced the formation of the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) which he positioned it as an opposition party vis-a-vis the CPP and FUNCINPEC. In March 2007 Ranariddh, who feared the prospect of imprisonment from the embezzlement suit, left Cambodia. Subsequently, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ruled in Nhek Bun Chhay's favour, ruling Ranariddh guilty and sentencing the latter to 18 months of imprisonment. In October 2007, FUNCINPEC endorsed Norodom Arunrasmy, the wife of Keo Puth Rasmey, as the party's candidate for the post of Prime Minister in the general elections slated to be held in 2008. At the same time, Nhek Bun Chhay mooted the possibility of getting back Ranariddh into FUNCINPEC, fearing that the party might have lost its popularity following Ranariddh's ouster.

When the general elections were held in July 2008, FUNCINPEC won 2 seats in the National Assembly as most of the party's supporters voted for the CPP, which won the elections and secured 90 seats in the National Assembly. As a result of its losses incurred in the general election, the CPP took over ministerial positions which were formerly held by FUNCINPEC MPs since 2004, although it still allowed Nhek Bun Chhay to remain in his position as Deputy Prime Minister, while 32 senior party members were appointed as secretary-of-state and undersecretary-of-state positions. In the next few months after the elections, the Phnom Penh Post reported that at least 10 percent of its members defected to the CPP, including its former ministers Pou Sothirak and Sun Chhanthol. In February 2009, FUNCINPEC signed an agreement with the NRP to cooperate for the commune council elections that was slated to take place in May 2009. When the elections took place in that month, the FUNCINPEC-NRP alliance only secured less than 0.1% of all votes cast for the provincial, municipal and district-level seats.

Both FUNCINPEC and NRP held tentative discussions on the possibility of a party merger in June 2009 and April 2010, with both parties agreeing an electoral alliance in June 2010 as a first step toward an eventual merger. In December 2010, Ranariddh publicly for FUNCINPEC and NRP to merge, suggesting that the new party borne out of the merger be named "FUNCINPEC 81", with "81" as a reference point to the year which Sihanouk founded FUNCINPEC in 1981. Sihanouk quickly distanced himself from any association with the party, and posted a website on his website iterating his unequivocal support for Hun Sen and the CPP government. In response, Ranariddh pledged that he would similarly support Hun Sen should the party merger be realised. Nhek Bun Chhay balked at Ranariddh's suggestion, saying that the party merger would cause "difficulties" with the party's continued partnership with the CPP, while the party issued an official statement rejecting Ranariddh's proposal.

In April 2011, Nhek Bun Chhay was elected as the party's president, replacing Keo Puth Rasmey who in turn was appointed the party's chairperson. Thirteen months later, Nhek Bun Chhay and Ranariddh signed an agreement to merge NRP into FUNCINPEC, which provided for Ranariddh to become FUNCINPEC's president with Nhek Bun Chhay as his deputy. The agreement was brokered by Hun Sen, who wanted both parties to reunite. The merger agreement fell apart as Nhek Bun Chhay and Ranariddh accused each other of thinking about supporting other opposition parties. Subsequently, in March 2013, Nhek Bun Chhay was succeeded by Norodom Arunrasmy as the party's president, who in turn resumed his former role as the party's secretary-general. When general elections were held in July 2013, FUNCINPEC suffered defeat as it lost its remaining two seats which it held in the National Assembly. In turn, Nhek Bun Chhay relinquished his Deputy Prime Minister position and was made a government adviser, although the CPP-led government appointed 28 FUNCINPEC members as undersecretaries of state.

Ranariddh's return
In early January 2015, Ranariddh expressed his intent to return to FUNCINPEC. At the party congress held on 19 January 2015, Ranariddh was reappointed as FUNCINPEC president, succeeding Arunrasmy who was appointed as its first vice-president, while Nhek Bun Chhay was appointed as second vice-president. Rifts between Nhek Bun Chhay and Ranariddh quickly surfaced as the both of them sparred with each other over the right to use the party stamp and the appointment of Say Hak as the party's secretary general. Ranariddh eventually gained the upper hand, and Say Hak's appointment was reaffirmed at another party congress held in March 2015. He also managed to convince party delegates present at the congress to adopt a new party logo. At the same time, Ranariddh appointed four more vice-presidents to the party's executive committee, namely You Hockry, Por Bun Sreu, Nuth Sokhom and Nhep Bun Chin.

In July 2015, FUNCINPEC announced the formation of the Cambodian Royalist Youth Movement, a youth organisation aimed at garnering electoral support for the party from younger voters. Meanwhile, tension persisted between Nhek Bun Chhay and Ranariddh, which erupted into a public spat, as Ranariddh threatened to expelled Nhek Bun Chhay who in turn, accused the party president of holding a grudge against him. Subsequently, on 3 February 2016, Nhek Bun Chhay announced that he was quitting the party, and went on to form his new party, the Khmer National United Party (KNUP). The KNUP adopted a logo which was similar to a former logo of FUNCINPEC, featuring the Cambodian Independence Monument. The secretary-general, Say Hak accepted Nhek Bun Chhay's resignation, while at the same time challenged KNUP's use of its new logo as he lodged a successful complaint with the interior ministry.

FUNCINPEC declared on 1 June 2017 that it is open to legalizing same-sex marriage. The party came runners-up to the Cambodian People's Party in the 2018 general election but did not win any seats in a vote described by multiple observers as a "formality".

Military

FUNCINPEC had its own military forces, which was first known as the Armee Nationale Sihanoukiste (ANS) when it was formed on 4 September 1982. The ANS was an amalgamation of several armed resistance movements that have pledged alliances with Sihanouk. They consisted of MOULINAKA, Kleang Moeung, Oddar Tus and Khmer Angkor, giving the ANS a combined strength of 7,000 troops. In Tam, a former Prime Minister of the Khmer Republic, was appointed as the Commander-in-chief of the ANS in its founding year. In the initial years of after its formation, the ANS received weapons and equipment from China, as well as medical supplies and combat training for its troops from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. At the same time, the ANS regularly faced attacks from the Khmer Rouge forces until 1987, suffering heavy casualties as a result.

In March 1985, Sihanouk appointed one of his sons, Norodom Chakrapong as the deputy chief-of-staff of ANS. The following January, Sihanouk appointed another son, Norodom Ranariddh as the ANS chief-of-staff. Ranariddh was also made the Commander-in-chief of the ANS, replacing In Tam. When the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1991, the ANS had a total of 17,500 troops under its command, although it was reduced to 14,000 after the UNTAC attempted a demobilisation exercise that lasted between May and September 1992. In 1993, the ANS was amalgamated into the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), together with the Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF) and KPNLF armed forces, under UNTAC supervision. Troops from each of the three armies retained respective factional loyalties to their former resistance affiliations. The ex-ANS troops came under the command of General Nhek Bun Chhay, who served as the deputy chief of staff for the RCAF between 1993 and 1997.

In the years between 1993 till 1996, the Cambodian defence ministry attempted to integrate the different factions together, but were unsuccessful. In a dossier written by Nhek Bun Chhay around mid-1997, there were 80,800 pro-FUNCINPEC troops, which were divided into 11 battalions across the country. Nhek also express concern of the inferior troop strength of the pro-FUNCINPEC forces, as they were slightly outnumbered compared to 90,000 pro-CPP troops. In November 1996, armed skirmishes occurred between RCAF troops separately aligned to CPP and FUNCINPEC, after a pro-CPP general, Keo Pong accused a pro-FUNCINPEC general, Serey Kosal of attempting to kill him, who in turn accused Keo Pong of recruiting Khmer Rouge defectors into his ranks. More armed skirmishes broke out until February 1997, leaving 14 pro-CPP and 2 pro-FUNCINPEC troops wounded. Subsequently, Ke Kim Yan, the chief-of-staff of the RCAF stepped in to meditate the conflict, and a directive was issued to prohibit movement of troops without the explicit permission of the government. In late March 1997, the two co-defense ministers, Tea Banh of the CPP and Tea Chamrath of FUNCINPEC, together with Ke Kim Yan and Nhek Bun Chhay formed a bipartisan defence committee was formed to prevent the RCAF from getting embroiled into the political conflict between Ranariddh and Hun Sen.

While the defence committee formed, the Cambodian media reported continued unusual troop movements positioning themselves in Phnom Penh, and minor skirmishes between troops from both sides occurred sporadically until June 1997. On 4 July 1997, Nhek Bun Chhay signed a military pact with the Khmer Rouge at Anlong Veng, prompting pro-CPP troops to strike their pro-FUNCINPEC counterparts the following day. Violent clashes erupted between pro-CPP and pro-FUNCINPEC forces at FUNCINPEC headquarters, Pochentong Airport and Ranariddh's residence in Phnom Penh. The pro-FUNCINPEC forces, led by Nhek Bun Chhay initially gained an advantage as they were able to control up to half of the city, but were soon overwhelmed and defeated the following day after pro-CPP forces sent in additional troops. Over the next three days, pro-CPP troops arrested and several at least 33 pro-FUNCINPEC senior military officers. Among those who were executed included Ly Seng Hong, deputy chief-of-staff of RCAF; Ho Sok, secretary of state of the Interior Ministry and Chao Sambath, deputy chief of the espionage and military intelligence department of RCAF.

In subsequent days after the clashes, pro-CPP troops continued their military offensives against pro-FUNCINPEC troops in the northwestern parts of Cambodia, which controlled the towns of Sisophon, Banteay Meanchey and Poipet. The pro-FUNCINPEC troops, who were outmatched against their pro-CPP counterparts, retreated to O Smach in Oddar Meanchey Province, where they held out against pro-CPP troops which continued military offensives against them. At O Smach, pro-FUNCINPEC forces met the Khmer Rouge forces led by Khieu Samphan, who proclaimed Nhek Bun Chhay as the chief-of-staff of the resistance forces. Fighting continued between pro-CPP and pro-FUNCINPEC troops until February 1998, when both sides agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the Japanese government. After general elections were held in July 1998, Nhek Bun Chhay called for the 20,000 pro-FUNCINPEC forces to be reintegrated into the RCAF. Subsequently, Nhek Bun Chhay left O Smach, returned to Phnom Penh and was appointed as a senator. Khan Savoeun, a former subordinate of Nhek Bun Chhay, was subsequently appointed as one of the four deputy commander-in-chief of the RCAF in February 1999.

List of party presidents
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes Acting President of FUNCINPEC}}

title: FUNCINPEC


text:
Cambodian People's Party

The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is a Cambodian political party which has ruled the country since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP).

During the Cold War it allied itself with Vietnam and the Soviet Union, in contrast to the pro-Chinese Communist Party of Kampuchea led by Pol Pot. After toppling the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea regime with the Vietnamese-backed liberation of Phnom Penh, it became the ruling party of the People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979–1989), which was later renamed the State of Cambodia (1989–1991). The party's current name was adopted during the final year of the State of Cambodia, when the party abandoned the one-party system and Marxism–Leninism.

Originally rooted in communist and Marxist–Leninist ideologies, the party took on a more reformist outlook in the mid-1980s under Heng Samrin. In 1991, the CPP officially dropped its commitment to socialism, and has since embraced a mixed economy. Along with some major parties of the European centre-right, the CPP is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.

The party's rule has been described as authoritarian.

Forerunner organizations and early history
Nationalists in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos held the belief that to successfully liberate themselves from France they needed to work together; the nationalists formed the supranational Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) to oppose the French in 1930.

However, the triumph of the Japanese during the early stage of World War II crippled French rule and helped to nurture nationalism in all three Indochinese countries. Consequently, the idea of an Indochinese-wide party was submerged in the rhetoric of fierce nationalism. In Cambodia, growing nationalist sentiment and national pride married historical mistrust and fear of neighbouring countries, which turned out to be a stumbling block for the ICP. On 28 June 1951, the Cambodian nationalists who struggled to free Cambodia from French colonial rule split from the ICP to form the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP).

In 1955, the KPRP established a subsidiary party named the Pracheachon in order to run in the national election that year. The name of the party was changed to the Workers' Party of Kampuchea (WPK) on 28 September 1960 and then to the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) in 1966. Members of the CPK moved the party's headquarters to Ratanakiri Province, where they were termed "Khmer Rouge" by Prince Norodom Sihanouk.

Pen Sovan's leadership (1979–1981)
In early 1979, the Cambodian communists who overthrew the Khmer Rouge's regime to end the genocide held a congress. At this gathering, they declared themselves the true successors of the original KPRP founded in 1951 and labelled the congress as the Third Party Congress, thus not recognizing the 1963, 1975 and 1978 congresses of CPK as legitimate. The party considered 28 June 1951 as its founding date. A national committee led by Pen Sovan and Roh Samai was appointed by the Congress. The women's wing of the party, the National Association of Women for the Salvation of Kampuchea, was also established in 1979 with a vast national network of members that extended to the district level.

The existence of the party was kept secret until its 4th congress in May 1981, when it appeared publicly and assumed the name KPRP. The name-change was stated to be carried out "to clearly distinguish it from the reactionary Pol Pot party and to underline and reassert the continuity of the party's best traditions".

Heng Samrin's leadership (1981–1991)
As of 1990, members of the Politburo were Heng Samrin (General Secretary), Chea Sim, Hun Sen, Chea Soth, Math Ly, Tea Banh, Men Sam An, Nguon Nhel, Sar Kheng, Bou Thang, Ney Pena, Say Chhum and alternate members included Sing Song, Sim Ka and Pol Saroeun. Members of the Secretariat were Heng Samrin, Say Phouthang, Bou Thang, Men Sam An and Sar Kheng.

Hun Sen's leadership (1991–2023)
In 1991, the party was renamed to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) during a United Nations-sponsored peace and reconciliation process. Politburo and the Secretariat to enter into the new Standing Committee, Chea Sim as President and Hun Sen as Vice-president. Despite being rooted in socialism, the party adopted a pragmatic approach in order to keep power. For instance, the CPP played a major role in Cambodian peace negotiation process, which led to the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 23 October 1991 and the creation of the second Kingdom of Cambodia. The CPP ousted Nodorom Ranariddh in a coup in 1997, leaving the party with no serious opposition. Thirty-two people died in the coup.

Under CPP rule, Cambodia transitioned into a lower-middle-income economy in 2016. The party aims to turn Cambodia into a higher-middle-income country by 2030 and high-income country by 2050. Ideologically, an increasing number of CPP senior leaders claim that the Cambodian ruling party has adopted a centrist position. They believe that the CPP presents a middle path between capitalism and communism, with emphasis on the values and principles of social market economy along with social and environmental protection, and Buddhist humanism. However, academics such as John Ciorciari have observed that the CPP still continues to maintain its communist-era party structures and that many of its top-ranking members were derived from KPRP. Also, despite Hun Sen being only the deputy leader of the party until 2015, he had de facto control of the party.

It won 64 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly in the 1998 elections, 73 seats in the 2003 elections and 90 seats in the 2008 elections, winning the popular vote by the biggest margin ever for a National Assembly election with 58% of the vote. The CPP also won the 2006 Senate elections. The party lost 22 seats in the 2013 elections, with opposition gained. Since 2018 Cambodian general election, the party commands all 125 seats in the National Assembly, and 58 of 62 seats in the Senate. The main opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was banned before the election. Hun Sen, the former Prime Minister of Cambodia, has served as the CPP's President since 2015.

Party leadership (1979–1993)

 * Heng Samrin:
 * General Secretary of the KPRP (1981–1991)
 * Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (later the Council of State) (1979–1992)
 * Chea Sim:
 * Minister of the Interior (1979–1981)
 * President of the National Assembly (1981–92),
 * Chairman of the Council of State (1992–1994)
 * Pen Sovan:
 * Minister of Defense (1979–1981);
 * General Secretary of the KPRP (1979–81);
 * Prime Minister (1981)
 * Hun Sen:
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs (1979–1986; 1987–1990);
 * Deputy Prime Minister (1981–85),
 * Prime Minister (1985–1993)
 * Chan Sy:
 * Minister of defense (1981–1982),
 * Prime Minister (1981–1984)
 * Say Phouthang:
 * Vice President of the State Council (1979–1993)
 * Chea Soth:
 * Minister of Planning (1982–1986),
 * Deputy Prime Minister (1982–1992)
 * Bou Thang:
 * Deputy Prime Minister (1982–1992),
 * Minister of Defense (1982–1986)
 * Math Ly:
 * Vice President of the National Assembly
 * Kong Korm:
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs (1986–1987)
 * Hor Namhong:
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990–1993)

List of party leaders
KPRP (General Secretary) CPP (President)

Organization
The party is headed by a 34-member Permanent Committee, commonly referred to as the Politburo (after its former Communist namesake). The current members are (with their party positions in brackets):
 * 1) Hun Sen (Chairman)
 * 2) Heng Samrin (Honorary Chairman)
 * 3) Sar Kheng (Deputy Chairman)
 * 4) Say Chhum (Chairman of the Standing Committee)
 * 5) Say Phouthang
 * 6) Bou Thang
 * 7) Tea Banh
 * 8) Men Sam An
 * 9) Nguon Nhel
 * 10) Ney Pena
 * 11) Sim Ka
 * 12) Ke Kim Yan
 * 13) Pol Saroeun
 * 14) Kong Sam Ol
 * 15) Im Chhun Lim
 * 16) Dith Munty
 * 17) Chea Chanto
 * 18) Uk Rabun
 * 19) Cheam Yeap
 * 20) Ek Sam Ol
 * 21) Som Kim Suor
 * 22) Khuon Sudary
 * 23) Pen Pannha
 * 24) Chhay Than
 * 25) Hor Nam Hong
 * 26) Bin Chhin
 * 27) Keat Chhon
 * 28) Yim Chhay Ly
 * 29) Tep Ngorn
 * 30) Kun Kim
 * 31) Meas Sophea
 * 32) Neth Savoeun

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Cambodian People's Party


text:
Socialist Party of Chile

The Socialist Party of Chile (Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a coup d'état by General Augusto Pinochet in 1973. The military junta immediately banned socialist, Marxist and other leftist political parties. Members of the Socialist party and other leftists were subject to violent suppression, including torture and murder, under the Pinochet dictatorship, and many went into exile. Twenty-seven years after the 1973 coup, Ricardo Lagos Escobar won the Presidency as the Socialist Party candidate in the 1999–2000 Chilean presidential election. Socialist Michelle Bachelet won the 2005–06 Chilean presidential election. She was the first female president of Chile and was succeeded by Sebastián Piñera in 2010. In the 2013 Chilean general election, she was again elected president, leaving office in 2018.

Beginnings
The Socialist Party of Chile was co-founded on 19 April 1933, by Colonel Marmaduque Grove, who had already led several governments, Oscar Schnake, Carlos Alberto Martínez, future President Salvador Allende, and other personalities. After the Chilean coup of 1973 it was proscribed (along with the other leftist parties constituting the Popular Unity coalition) and the party split into several groups which would not reunite until after the return to civilian rule in 1990.

Socialist thought in Chile goes back to the mid-19th century, when Francisco Bilbao and Santiago Arcos opened a debate on civil rights and social equality in Chile. These ideas took hold in the labour movement at the beginning of the 20th century and, along with them, the various communist, anarchist, socialist, and mutualist ideals of the time were diffused by writers and leaders such as Luis Emilio Recabarren. The impact of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia imparted new vigor to Chile's revolutionary movements, which in the 1920s were mostly identified with the global Communist movement; the Communist Party of Chile was formed.

The Great Depression in the 1930s plunged the country's working and middle classes into a serious crisis that led them to sympathize with socialist ideas, which found expression in the establishment of the short-lived Socialist Republic of Chile in 1932. The idea of founding a political party to unite the different movements identified with socialism took shape in the foundation of the Socialist Party of Chile, on 19 April 1933. At a conference in Santiago, at 150 Serrano, 14 delegates from the Socialist Marxist Party led by Eduardo Rodriguez Mazer; 18 from the New Public Action, headed by the lawyer Eugenio Matte Stolen; 12 delegates of the Socialist Order, whose main exponent was the architect Arturo Bianchi Gundian; and 26 representatives of the Revolutionary Socialist Action of Óscar Schnake formulated the new party's founding document and its short-term action plan, and elected Óscar Schnake as its first executive Secretary General.

The Party's Statement of Principles was:

 * The Socialist Party embodies Marxism, enriched by scientific and social progress.
 * The Capitalist exploitation based on the doctrine of private property regarding land, industry, resource, and transportation, necessarily must be replaced by an economically socialist state in which said private property be transformed into collective.
 * During the process of total transformation of the system of government, a representative revolutionary government of the manual and intellectual labourers' class is necessary. The new socialist state only can be born of the initiative and the revolutionary action of the proletariat masses.
 * The socialist doctrine is of an international character and requires the support of all the workers of the world. The Socialist Party will support their revolutionary goals in economics and politics across Latin America in order to pursue a vision of a Confederacy of the Socialist Republics of the Continent, the first step toward the World Socialist Confederation.

The Party quickly obtained popular support. Its partisan structure exhibits some singularities, such as the creation of "brigades" that group their militants according to environment of activity; brigades that live together organically, and brigades of militant youths such as the Confederacy of the Socialist Youth, and the Confederacy of Socialist Women. In the later 1930s they included the "Left Communist" faction, formed by a split of the Communist Party of Chile, headed by Manuel Noble Plaza and comprising the journalist Oscar Waiss, the lawyer Tomás Chadwick and the first secretary of the PS, Ramón Sepúlveda Loyal, among others.

In 1934, the Socialists, along with the Radical-Socialist Party and the Democratic Party, formed the "Leftist Bloc". In the first parliamentary election (March 1937) they obtained 22 representatives (19 representatives and 3 senators), among them its Secretary general Oscar Schnake Vergara, elected senator of Tarapacá-Antofagasta, placed by the PS in a noticeable place inside the political giants of the epoch. For the 1938 presidential election, the PS participated in the formation of the Popular Front, withdrawing its presidential candidate, the colonel Marmaduque Grove, and supporting the Radical Party's candidate, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, who narrowly defeated the right-wing candidate following an attempted coup by the National Socialist Movement of Chile. In the government of Aguirre Cerda the socialists obtained the Ministries of Public Health, Forecast and Social Assistance, given to Salvador Allende, the Minister of Promotion, trusted to Oscar Schnake, and the Ministers of Lands and Colonization, handed out to Rolando Merino.

The participation of the Socialist Party in the government of Aguirre Cerda reached an end on 15 December 1940, due to internal conflicts among the Popular Front coalition, in particular with the Communist Party. In the parliamentary elections of March 1941 the PS advanced outside of the Popular Front and obtained 17,9% of the votes, 17 representatives and 2 senators. The PS integrated into the new leftist coalition following Cerda's death, now named Democratic Alliance, which supported the candidacy of the Radical Juan Antonio Ríos, who was triumphantly elected. The Socialists participated in his cabinet, alongside Radicals, members of the Democratic Party and of the Liberal Party and even of the Falange. Oscar Schnake occupied once again the post of Promotion and the socialist Pedro Populate Vera and Eduardo Escudero Forrastal assumed the positions of Lands and Colonization and Social Assistance, respectively.

The youth of the party assumed a very critical attitude toward these changes and mergers, which caused the expulsion of all the Central Committee of the FJS, among them Raúl Vásquez (its secretary general), Raúl Ampuero, Mario Palestro and Carlos Briones. In the IX Congress of the PS of the year 1943 Salvador Allende displaced Marmaduque Grove as Secretary General and withdrew his party from the government of Ríos. Grove did not accept this situation, and was expelled from the PS and formed the Authentic Socialist Party. These conflicts caused the PS to drop violently to only 7% of the votes in the parliamentary elections of March 1945, diminishing significantly its parliamentary strength.

After World War II
There was complete confusion in the Socialist Party for the presidential election of 1946. The PS decided to put up its own candidate; its secretary general Bernardo Ibáñez. However, many militants supported the radical candidate Gabriel González Videla, while the Authentic Socialist Party of Grove stopped supporting the liberal Fernando Alessandri.

After the failure of the candidacy of Ibáñez (who obtained barely a 2.5% of the votes), the purges continued. In the XI Ordinary Congress the current "revolution" of Raúl Ampuero was imposed and he assigned to academic Eugenio González the making of the Program of the Socialist Party which defined its north; the Democratic Republic of Workers.

The promulgation, in 1948, of the Law 8.987 "Defense of Democracy Law" that banned the communists, was again a factor of division among the socialists. Bernardo Ibáñez, Oscar Schnake, Juan Bautista Rosseti and other anticommunist socialists supported it with enthusiasm; while the board of directors of the party directed by Raúl Ampuero and Eugenio González rejected it. The anticommunist group of Ibáñez was expelled from the PS and they constituted the Socialist Party of the Workers; nevertheless the Conservative of the electoral Roll assigned to the group of Ibáñez the name Socialist Party of Chile, forcing the group of Ampuero to adopt the name Socialist Popular Party.

The Socialist Popular Party proclamation, in its XIV Congress, carried out in Chillán in May 1952, as its presidential standard bearer to Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, despite the refusal of the senators Salvador Allende and Tomás Chadwick. Allende abandoned the party and united the Socialist Party of Chile, which, as a group with the Communist Party (outlawed), raised the candidacy of Allende for the Front of the People. The triumph of Ibáñez permitted the popular socialists to have important departments such as that of Work (Clodomiro Almeyda) and Estate (Felipe Herrera).

After the parliamentary elections of 1953; where the Socialist Popular Party obtained 5 senators and 19 representatives, the popular socialists abandoned the government of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo and proclaimed the need to establish a Front of Workers, in conjunction with the Democratic Party of the People, the socialists of Chile and the outlawed communists.

Finally, on 1 March 1956, the two socialist parties (Socialist Party of Chile and Socialist Popular Party), the Party of the Workers (communist outlawed), Democratic Party of the People and the Democratic Party all signed the minutes of constitution of the Front of Popular Action (FRAP) with Salvador Allende Gossens as the president of the coalition, which participated successfully in the municipal elections of April 1956.

After the parliamentary elections of March 1957 the "Congress of Unity" was carried to power, formed from the Popular Socialist Party directed by Rául Ampuero and the Socialist Party of Chile of Salvador, directed by Allende Gossens. These chose the secretary general of the unified Socialist Party; Salomón Corbalán.

On 31 July 1958, the Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy was derogated by the National Congress, therefore the ban of the Communist Party was repealed. In the presidential elections of 1958, the standard bearer of the Front of Popular Action (FRAP), the socialist Salvador Allende, lost the presidential election narrowly to Jorge Alessandri. In spite of the loss, the unification of the socialist parties had a new leader, and Chile was one of the few countries of the world in which a Marxist had clear possibilities to win the presidency of the Republic through democratic elections.

The overwhelming triumph of Eduardo Frei Montalva over the candidate of the FRAP Salvador Allende Gossens in the presidential elections of September 1964 caused demoralization among the followers of the "Chilean way to socialism". The National Democratic Party (PADENA) abandoned the coalition of left; and the influence of the Cuban revolution and above all of the "guerrilla way of Ernesto Guevara" they were left to feel the heart of the Socialist Party. The discrepancies of the party were perceived clearly. In July from 1967 the senators Raúl Ampuero and Tomás Chadwick and the representatives Ramón Silva Ulloa, Eduardo Osorio Pardo and Oscar Naranjo Arias were expelled, and founded the popular socialist union (USOPO). In the XXII Congress, which took place in Chillán in November 1967, the political became more radical, under the influence of Carlos Altamirano Orrego and the leader of the Ranquil Rural Confederation, Rolando Calderón Aránguiz. The party now officially adhered to Marxism-Leninism, declared itself in favour of revolutionary, anticapitalist and anti-imperialist changes.

Popular Unity government
In 1969, skepticism about the "Chilean way to socialism" prevailed in the Central Committee of the Socialist Party. Salvador Allende Gossens was proclaimed as the party's presidential candidate, with 13 votes in favor and 14 abstentions, among them that of its secretary general, Aniceto Rodriguez, of Carlos Altamirano Orrego, and of Clodomiro Almeyda Medina. Nevertheless, the candidacy of Allende galvanized the forces of the left, who formed, in October 1969, the Popular Unity coalition including the Socialist Party, Communist Party, Radical Party, Popular Unitary Action Movement (which had split from the Christian Democrat Party), and Independent Popular Action, consisting of former supporters of Carlos Ibáñez. Popular Unity triumphed in the presidential election of September 1970.

On 24 October 1970 Salvador Allende Gossens was officially proclaimed President of the Republic of Chile. There was world expectation; he agreed to manage the coalition and to be a Marxist president with the explicit commitment to build socialism, while respecting the democratic and institutional mechanisms.

The position of the PS on joining the government of the UP became more radical when senator Carlos Altamirano Orrego took over as party leader, having been elected at the XXIII Congress in La Serena in January 1971. He proclaimed that the party should become "the Chilean vanguard in the march toward socialism".

In the municipal elections of April 1971, the leftist coalition achieved an absolute majority in the election of local councillors, which caused growing polarization due to the alliance of the Christian Democrats with the sectors of the right in the country. The withdrawal of the Party of Radical Left from the government, with its 6 representatives and 5 senators, meant that the government of Allende was left with less than one third of both houses of the parliament.

In the parliamentary elections of March 1973, the Popular Unity ruler coalition managed to block a move by the opposing Democratic Confederation to impeach Allende. This initiative did not attain the required two-thirds majority.

Coup d'état and political suppression
The serious economic problems facing the government only deepened the country's political divisions. The Socialist Party, which had posted its highest electoral showing in history, was opposed, along with MAPU, to any dialogue with the right-wing opposition. Meanwhile, from the United States, a concerted plan was underway to prevent socialists from gaining power around the world, including CIA backing for the right wing in Chile. On 11 September 1973, Augusto Pinochet led the military coup against Allende's government, putting an end to the Presidential Republic Era begun in 1924. President Salvador Allende refused to relinquish power to the Armed Forces, and ultimately committed suicide in his office at the Palace of La Moneda, during an intensive air bombardment of the historic edifice.

The military coup d'état was devastating to the organization of the Chilean Socialist Party. Within a few weeks of the coup, four members of their Central Committee and seven regional secretaries of the Partido Social had been murdered. A further twelve members of the Central Committee were imprisoned, while the remaining members took refuge in various foreign embassies. The Socialist Party's Secretary General, Carlos Altamirano, managed to escape from Chile, appearing in Havana on 1 January 1974, during the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.

Lack of experience working 'underground' during the ban led to the breakup of the Party's Secret Directorate. The secret services of the military state managed to infiltrate the organization and, one by one, arrested its principal leaders. The bodies of Exequiel Ponce Vicencio, Carlos Lorca Tobar (disappeared 1975), Ricardo Lagos Salinas and Víctor Zerega Ponce were never found.

Other victims of repression were the former home Secretary, José Tohá González and the former Minister of National Defense, Orlando Letelier del Solar. Having reviewed the consequences of the defeat of the Unidad Popular, and observed the experiences of refugees of "true socialism" in Eastern Europe, and seeing the lack of a cohesive strategy to continue against Pinochet's regime, there was deep dissent within its exterior organization, whose central management was in the German Democratic Republic.

In April 1979, the Tercer Pleno Exterior, the majority sector of the party, named Clodomiro Almeyda as the new Secretary General, Galo Gómez as the Assistant Secretary and expelled Carlos Altamirano, Jorge Arrate, Jaime Suaréz, Luis Meneses and Erich Schnake from the party, charging them with being "remnants of a past which is in the process of being overcome who testify to the survival of a nucleus which is irreducible and resistant to the superior qualitative development of a true revolutionary vanguard".

Altamirano, not accepting this, declared a re-organization of the party and called a Conference. The XXIV Conference took place in France in 1980 and Altamirano declared there that, "Only a very deep and rigorous renewal of definitions and proposals for action, language, style and methods of "doing politics" will make our revolutionary action effective (...) It does not force us to "relaunch" the Partido Social (Socialist Party) of Chile. Yes, it means we must "renew it", understand it as our most precious instrument of change, as an option for power, as an alternative to transformation."

1980s reemergence under dictatorship
In the 1980s socialist factions reemerged as active opponents to the Pinochet government. A sector, from among the so-called "renewed socialist", founded the Convergencia Socialista (the Socialist Convergence), which contributed to the Movimiento de Acción Popular Unitaria – MAPU (Unified Movement of Popular Action), the peasant worker MAPU, and the Christian Leftists. They aimed, in conjunction with the Christian Democracy, to end dictatorship through "non-disruptive methods". The other sector (majority from among the socialist militants in the interior of the country) formed the "popular rebellion" alliance – an agreement with the Communist Party, the Leftist Revolutionary Movement and the Radical Party of Anselmo Sule. The objectives were the same. After the First National Protest against the Pinochet regime, which occurred on 11 May 1983, the efforts of the different factions of the Socialist Party intensified.

The XXIV ("renewed") Socialist Party Congress, directed by Ricardo Ñúnez, decided to form the Democratic Alliance. This was a coalition of Christian Democrats, Silva Cimma radicals, and sectors from the republican and democratic right wing. They convened the Fourth National Protest Day (11 August 1983) and proposed, in September 1983, the formation of the Socialist Bloc, the first attempt at a unification of Chilean socialism under the slogan "Democracy Now!".

In the meantime, the "Almeyda" Partido Social, in conjunction with the Communist Party, Aníbal Palm radicals and the Leftist Revolutionary Movement, founded the "Movimiento Democrático Popular" (MDP) (Popular Democratic Movement) on 6 September 1983, which caused the Fifth Day of National Protest.

The signing of the National Accord in late August 1985, between the Democratic Alliance and sectors of the right wing aligned to the military regime, deepened divisions among the Chilean left wing. The most radical politico-military arm opposed the method of gradual transition towards democracy. Their primary exponent was the Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez (FPMR) (the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front).

The MAPU-OC, whose main figures were Jaime Gazmuri, Jorge Molina and Jaime Estévez, was added to the "renewed" Partido Social, now directed by Carlos Briones.

In September 1986, the politico-military method of "mass violent insurrectionist uprisings" was finally aborted after the failure of "Operation 20th century", as the assassination attempt on Pinochet by the FPMR was called. Some of the top leaders from among the revolutionary sectors of the "Almeyda" Partido Social, along with conciliators and opportunists, on realizing that the idea of overthrowing the dictatorship was not a viable strategy, began to take control of the party and distance themselves from the Communist Party. As a result, the socialist left wing realized that a "negotiated solution" to the conflict could not be found outside of the provisions of the 1980 Constitution.

In March 1987, Clodomiro Almeyda entered Chile secretly and presented himself before the court to rectify his situation. He was deported to Chile Chico, condemned and deprived of his civic rights.

In April 1987, Ricardo Núñez, new leader of the "renewed" Partido Social, announced, at the 54th Anniversary of the party, "We are not going to remove Pinochet from the political scene using weapons. We shall defeat him with the ballot boxes (..) We are convinced that the town is going to stop Pinochet with the ballot boxes. We are going to build that army of seven million citizens to embrace different alternatives to the Chilean political landscape."

In December 1987 the "renewed" Partido Social founded the Partido por la Democracia (PPD) (Party for Democracy), an "instrumental" party serving as a tool to enable legally democratic forces to participate in the 1988 Plebiscite (Referendum) and in subsequent elections. Ricardo Lagos was appointed as the president. Some radicals, dissident communists, and even democratic liberals joined this party.

In February 1988 the Concertación de Partidos por el No (Coalition of Parties for the 'No') was formed. 17 political parties and movements in Chile joined this coalition. Among them were the members of the Alianza Democrática (the Democratic Alliance), the Almeyda Partido Social, and the Christian Left. The political direction of the campaign fell on the Christian Democratic leader, Patricio Aylwin, and Ricardo Lagos from the PPD. They achieved successful results in the 5 October 1988, Plebiscite, where close to 56% of the valid votes cast rejected the idea that Pinochet would continue as the President of the Republic.

After the October 1988 Plebiscite, the Concertación called for constitutional reform to remove the "authoritarian clauses" of the 1980 Constitution. This proposal by the democratic opposition was partly accepted by the authoritarian government via the 30 July 1989, Plebiscite, where 54 reforms to the existing Constitution were approved. Among these reforms were the revocation of the controversial article 8, which served as the basis for the exclusion of the socialist leader, Clodomiro Almeyda, from political involvement.

In November 1988 the Almeyda Partido Social, the Christian Left and the Communist Party, among other left wing organizations, formed an "instrumental" party called Partido Amplio de Izquierda Socialista (PAIS) (the Broad Left Socialist Party), with Luis Maira as the president and Ricardo Solari as the secretary general.

Concertación
In May 1989, the "renewed" PS held internal elections by secret ballot by its nationwide membership, for the first time in the history of Chilean socialism. The list composed of Jorge Arrate and Luis Alvarado won, against the competing lists of Erich Schnake and Akím Soto, and of Heraldo Muñoz (supported by Ricardo Lagos' faction within the party).

The winning list of Jorge Arrate represented the tendency of the "socialist renewal", upholding a permanent alliance with the Christian Democrats within the Concertación, and strongly defending the unity of the party, in contrast to other internal tendencies. After the elections the XXV Congress was convoked at Costa Azul, which took the momentous decision for Chilean socialism to abandon its traditional isolationism and join the Socialist International.

In June 1989, the Concertación appointed the Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin as its standard bearer for the presidential elections. Aylwin had beaten Gabriel Valdés and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle in the party's internal elections, and a few weeks before the election he received the support of the radicals of Silva Cimma and even of the former Almeyda supporters (PS-Almeyda). Finally the PS-Arrate (or "renewal" PS) dropped its candidate Ricardo Lagos and added itself to the candidacy of Aylwin, who as president of the Christian Democratic Party was one of the main opponents of the Popular Unity government.

Aylwin won easily in the presidential elections of 1989, gaining more than the 55% of the valid votes. "Renewal Socialism" was strengthened as 16 representatives of the PPD were elected, 13 of whom were members of the PS-Arrate. In the matter of senators, three of their members were chosen (Ricardo Núñez Muñoz, Jaime Gazmuri and Hernán Vodanovic), but there was regret over the rout of Ricardo Lagos in his candidacy of Santiago West.

PS-Almeyda obtained seven representatives, two of them standing for the PAIS, and the other five elected as independents within the Concertación list. Rolando Calderon Aránguiz was elected as senator in Magallanes.

The fall of the wall of Berlin, on 9 November 1989, deeply affected the Chilean left, especially in its more orthodox sector. This accelerated the process of unification within the party, which was finalized on 27 December 1989. The Movimiento de Acción Popular Unitaria, led by Oscar Guillermo Garretón, took this chance to join the united PS.

Between 22 and 25 November 1990 the "Salvador Allende Unity Congress" was held, with past leaders such as Raúl Ampuero and Aniceto Rodriguez and the Christian Left headed by its president Luis Maira and its two representatives (Sergio Aguiló and Jaime Naranjo) joining the party. In that Congress Jorge Arrate was chosen as president, Ricardo Núñez Muñoz as vice president and Manuel Almeyda Medina as secretary general.

Hortensia Bussi, the widow of Allende, sent a message to the Congress from Mexico:

"I salute with deep feeling the reunification of the Socialist Party of Chile. You all know how I have waited for this moment, certain that Allende's comrades would overcome their differences and rebuild the powerful democratic left that Chile needs."

The first challenges for the unified socialists were the exercise of power and the "double membership" status of the "renewal socialists" as members of both the PS and the PPD. Finally, the Socialist Party decided to have itself recorded under its own name and symbols in the electoral rolls, and gave a two-year time limit to its members to opt for the PS or the PPD. A significant number of "renewal socialists" did not return to the PS; among them Erich Schnake, Sergio Bitar, Guido Girardi, Jorge Molina, Vicente Sotta, Víctor Barrueto and Octavio Jara.

In power, the socialists Enrique Correa (as the minister General Secretary of Government), Carlos Ominami (Economy), Germán Correa (Transportation), Ricardo Lagos and Jorge Arrate (Education) and Luis Alvarado (National Resources) entered the cabinets of President Aylwin, while in the House of Representatives, the socialists José Antonio Viera-Gallo and Jaime Estevéz exercised its presidency.

In the elections of 1992, Germán Correa was chosen as president of the PS, supported by the "renewal" group around Ricardo Núñez Muñoz and the "third way" faction within the Almeyda tendency. They prevailed against Camilo Escalona, Clodomiro Almeyda and Jaime Estevez, representing an alliance between the traditional supporters of Clodomiro Almeyda and one faction of Jorge Arrate's "renewal" tendency.

Concertación under Christian Democrat leadership (1990–2000)
The left (PS-PPD) backed Ricardo Lagos as the Concertación candidate for the 1993 presidential elections, but he was defeated by the Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, gaining only 36.6% of the vote in the primary on 23 May. After Frei became president, the Socialists took up senior posts in his first cabinet: Interior (Germán Correa), Planining (Luis Maira), Labor (Jorge Arrate), and Public Works (Ricardo Lagos).

In the parliamentary elections of December 1997, the PS did badly: its deputies decreased from 16 to 11, and its senators from 5 to 4. Its senatorial candidate Camilo Escalona obtained a mere 16% of the vote in Santiago West.

The detention of Pinochet in London in October 1998 caused tensions within the PS. The Socialist foreign affairs ministers José Miguel Insulza and Juan Gabriel Valdés pressed to have the ex-dictator returned to Chile, while a group of leading Socialists including Isabel Allende Bussi, Juan Pablo Letelier, Fanny Pollarolo and Juan Bustos Ramírez travelled to London to support judge  Baltasar Garzón's proceedings for extradition to Spain.

Leading up to the 1999 presidential elections, the PS, PPD and Radical Social-Democratic Party again supported Lagos as candidate. This time Lagos won the primary on 30 May, with 70.2% of votes. In the general election, he won 48.0% in the first round of voting and was elected with 51.3% in the second round.

Despite the party having been reunified in 1990 the Socialist Party had five internal factions; Nueva Izquierda, Generacional, Tercerismo, Arratismo and Nuñismo. By 1998 Arratismo and Nuñismo had merged into Megatendencia while Generacional, a brief tendency called Almeydismo and elements of Nueva Izquierda had merged into Colectivo de Identidad Socialista. Nueva Izquierda and Tercerismo remained as relatively stable factions by 1998.

Concertación under Socialist governments (2000–2010)
Lagos was elected president in 1999, defeating the rightwing candidate Joaquín Lavín with 51.3% of the vote, thus becoming the first president in thirty years to have Socialist support – even though Lagos himself was a PD member. Socialist ministers in his first cabinet were José Miguel Insulza (Interior), Ricardo Solari (Labor), Carlos Cruz (Public Works), and Michelle Bachelet (Health).

In the 2001 Chilean parliamentary election, as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy, the party won 10 out of 117 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and 5 out of 38 elected seats in the Senate. The 2001 parliamentary elections were a setback for the Socialists and for the Concertación as a whole. The PS increased its representation by only one deputy and one senator, while the Concertación vote sank below 50% for the first time in its existence.

In September 2003, marking 30 years since the coup against Allende, the Socialist Party issued a document accepting responsibility for the events:

"It is beyond all doubt that President Allende maintained an unchanging and impeccable attitude (...) Nevertheless, the socialists have made it clear, and we repeat it now, that we did not do enough to defend the democratic regime. We aimed to carry through a program of change without the necessary majorities in parliament and in society, we remained intransigent in the matter, and we did not give President Allende the support of his party that he needed to lead the government along the pathways that had been defined."

The outcome of the 2005 parliamentary elections was favorable both for the Socialists and for the Concertación: the PS increased its deputies from 12 to 15, and its senators from 5 to 8, giving it the largest block it had ever had in the Senate. Moreover, Michelle Bachelet was elected as president of Chile. For its part, the Concertación regained its electoral hegemony, with an absolute majority in both chambers of parliament.

Bachelet took over as president on 11 March 2006. She was the first woman president in the country's history, and the fourth successive president from the Concertación. Her initially high popularity dropped considerably as a result of the 2006 student mobilization known as the "Penguin Revolution", the Transantiago crisis, and various conflicts within the governing coalition. Described as a "social contract", her government reformed pensions and the social security system, aiming to help thousands of Chileans to improve their quality of life. Her government had to confront the world economic crisis of 2008, but her popularity figures recovered as Chileans formed a positive opinion of her leadership, and her final approval rating of 84% had never before been attained by any Chilean head of state on leaving their post.

Within the Party, divisions widened, with dissident factions opposing the policy of Camilo Escalona. Prominent figures including Jorge Arrate, senator Alejandro Navarro and deputy Marco Enriquez-Ominami quit the party in 2008 and 2009.

In the 2009 parliamentary elections, the PS led by Escalona suffered a serious defeat: it lost its dominance of the Senate, holding just 5 seats, and its deputies reduced in number form 15 to 11. Meanwhile, in new presidential elections, the Concertación candidate Eduardo Frei lost to the rightwinger Sebastián Piñera, putting an end to twenty years of Concertación rule.

Nueva Mayoría
Michelle Bachelet won the second round of the 2013 Chilean presidential election with 62% of the votes. She was the candidate of Nueva Mayoría ("New Majority"), a broadened version of the Concertación now including the Communist Party and others.

Presidents elected

 * 1970 – Salvador Allende
 * 2000 – Ricardo Lagos (with dual membership in the Party for Democracy)
 * 2006 – Michelle Bachelet
 * 2014 – Michelle Bachelet

Election results
Due to its membership in the Concert of Parties for Democracy, the party has endorsed the candidates of other parties on several occasions. Presidential elections in Chile are held using a two-round system, the results of which are displayed below.

title: Socialist Party of Chile


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Computer-aided dispatch

Computer-aided dispatch (CAD), also called computer-assisted dispatch, is a method of dispatching taxicabs, couriers, field service technicians, mass transit vehicles or emergency services assisted by computer. It can either be used to send messages to the dispatchee via a mobile data terminal (MDT) and/or used to store and retrieve data (i.e. radio logs, field interviews, client information, schedules, etc.). A dispatcher may announce the call details to field units over a two-way radio. Some systems communicate using a two-way radio system's selective calling features. CAD systems may send text messages with call-for-service details to alphanumeric pagers or wireless telephony text services like SMS. The central idea is that persons in a dispatch center are able to easily view and understand the status of all units being dispatched. CAD provides displays and tools so that the dispatcher has an opportunity to handle calls-for-service as efficiently as possible.

CAD typically consists of a suite of software packages used to initiate public safety calls for service, dispatch, and maintain the status of responding resources in the field. It is generally used by emergency communications dispatchers, call-takers, and 911 operators in centralized, public-safety call centers, as well as by field personnel utilizing mobile data terminals (MDTs) or mobile data computers (MDCs).

CAD systems consist of several modules that provide services at multiple levels in a dispatch center and in the field of public safety. These services include call input, call dispatching, call status maintenance, event notes, field unit status and tracking, and call resolution and disposition. CAD systems also include interfaces that permit the software to provide services to dispatchers, call takers, and field personnel with respect to control and use of analog radio and telephone equipment, as well as logger-recorder functions.

Methodology
Computer-assisted dispatch systems use one or more servers located in a central dispatch office, which communicate with computer terminals in a communications center or with mobile data terminals installed in vehicles. There are a multitude of CAD programs that suit different department needs, but the fundamentals of each system are the same. They include:

 * Log on/off times of police personnel (sworn/non-sworn)
 * Generating and archiving incidents that begin with a phone call from a citizen or originate from personnel in the field
 * Assigning field personnel to incidents
 * Updating Incidents and logging those updates
 * Generating case numbers for incidents that require an investigation
 * Timestamping every action taken by the dispatcher at the terminal

In an ideal setting, a call is received by a call-taker and information about the call is inputted into the CAD template. Simply, location, reporting party and incident are the main fields that have to be populated by type-codes. For example, if there was a burglary in progress, the type-code for that incident could be "BURG"; when BURG is typed out, then the program will spell out "BURGLARY (in progress)". If the location was at the 1400 block of Madison, the type-code could be "14MAD." The reporting party information would be populated by the call-taker including last name, first name, call-back number, etc.

A typical CAD printout looks something like this based on the example above:

--- LOCATION - 1400 Madison RP      - Doe, John, 555-5555, 1404 Madison INCIDENT - BURGLARY (in progress) SYNOPSIS - "Caller reports a possible burglary in progress based on seeing individuals inside the residence/Caller advises 2 persons inside the location and call advises  the current residents are on vacation." ---

Again, granted as it can be seen that the fields are spelled out, the call-taker uses those abbreviations that are already predetermined in order to quickly gather and transmit the information.

The dispatcher then receives the call from the call-taker and is able to dispatch the call to those available. The dispatcher's screen would show the available personnel that are dispatchable. A typical setting can be exemplified by this:

--- INCIDENT # - 110001 LOCATION  - 1400 Madison RP        - Doe, John, 555-5555 INCIDENT  - BURGLARY (In Progress) SYNOPSIS  - "Caller reports a possible burglary in progress based on seeing individuals  inside the residence/Caller advises 2 persons inside the location and call advises  the current residents are on vacation." UNITS     - 746 (Pri), 749 (Cov) --- Units available     - (3) Units out of service - (2) 745 - Avail. 746 - Not Avail. Inc # 554121 747 - Avail. 748 - Avail. 749 - Not Avail. Inc # 554122 ---

Everything that is gathered, dispatched and disposed is usually stored in a central server in which the type codes reside, or possibly another server. All of these calls which have incident numbers attached to them can be recalled by an internal search engine. For example, a request for a printout of all calls to Madison in the past hour could be gathered by querying the CAD program by location:

Search by: Location LOCATION [        ] --- Result: (Now filled in) Search by: Location LOCATION [14MAD   ] --- Result: (1) Incidents

CAD can be used in a multitude of ways, whether it is for radio logs, call logs or statistical analysis.

Consoles

Typical of local government dispatching facilities, the Denver RTD's facility is one example of a transit dispatch center. Communications consoles are mounted in desk-style electronics racks. Features include multi-line telephones. Modern facilities usually include a variety of computing systems for operational and administrative purposes.

Consoles serve as a human interface and connect to push-to-talk dispatch radio systems. Audio from all channels is processed through audio level compression circuits and is routed to two separate speakers identified as select and unselect. Each has a volume control. The select channel or channels carry the highest priority communications. To prevent missed messages on critical channels, the select volume may be configured so it cannot be set to an inaudible level. Unselect channels may be used for special events, other agencies, or purposes that do not involve dispatch and may be inaudible. By pressing a button, any channel on the console can be toggled between select and unselect status. Each channel has an independent push-to-talk button, allowing the dispatcher to talk over one channel at a time. For broadcast messages, a single button transmits over all selected channels at the same time. A digital clock and an LED bar-graph or VU meter are included.

Each channel has a label identifying it and indicator lights and buttons to control settings. A typical channel has a busy light, a call light, select light, select button, and a transmit button. The steady, red busy light indicates another dispatch position is transmitting on the channel. The flashing yellow call light indicates a field unit is talking on the channel. The call light usually blinks for several seconds after a transmission ends allowing a busy dispatcher to look up from a telephone call and determine which channel the last message came from.

Some console dispatch panels are actually a PC-based application. Such is the case of Zetron's Acom system and Avtec's Scout system. This allows for easy customization and modification of the dispatch key layout.

Service levels and geographic information
Computerized mapping, automatic vehicle location, automatic number identification and caller-identification technology are often used to enhance the service by pinpointing the locations of both the client and the most suitable vehicle for serving the client.

Some CAD systems allow several sources of information to be combined. For example, adding automatic vehicle location (AVL) and geographic information (GIS) could improve service by getting units to a service call location faster. Ideally, CAD is connected to monitor vehicle locations provided by an AVL system. This information is used to suggest the closest vehicle to an event. How is the closest unit determined?

Basic zone system
The simplest system is a beat or zone map system. For example, in a community with four fire stations, a grid is overlaid on a community map. Each zone of the grid is identified with a progression of police beats, ambulance zones, transit zones, or fire stations. One grid might be labeled: AB241. This means fire station 2, then 4, then 1, then 3 would respond to a fire call occurring inside this zone. The predefined order is created by persons with expertise in the service being provided, local geography, traffic, and patterns in calls for service.

Since only basic GIS information is included, if AVL was available, it would simply display service vehicle locations on a map. The closest unit would be interpreted by the dispatcher looking at vehicle locations projected on the map.

Where detailed geographic data are not available, units may be assigned based on the center of a district. To make the computing problem easier, the CAD system may use centroids to evaluate service vehicle locations. Centroids are estimated center points within a zone. The system calculates a distance from a fire station or AVL location to a centroid point. The closest fire station, according to CAD system rules, would be assigned. Systems may use centroids that are not exactly centered in order to skew or weight system decisions. Staff based at a fire station that is physically closer by drawing a straight line on the map may be slower to reach a zone. This can occur because responding units must drive around freeways, lakes, or terrain obstructions in order to reach a zone. A centroid may be moved because 200-car freight trains often block a railroad crossing used to access a particular zone.

This is the cheapest system to develop because it requires the least detailed geographic information and the simplest calculations. Another problem occurs where several services use the same system. Police and transit, for example, may have different ideas about what boundaries define the ideal zone or how centroids should be weighted.

CAD using geocoding
Geocoding is a translation system allowing addresses to be converted to X- and Y-coordinates. Someone placing a call for service has an address attached to a wired phone number or tells the dispatcher their address. For example, suppose the caller's address is 123 Main Street.

The GIS or CAD system includes a look-up table. The table may identify odd-numbered addresses in the community as being on the north and east sides of streets. Addresses from 113 to 157 Main Street are identified as being along Main Street's center line between Broadway and Washington. 123 is estimated to be on the north side of Main Street somewhere closer to 113 than 157. This estimate produces a latitude and longitude, or a set of Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates. The coordinates are close enough to identify the closest service vehicle. This system may automatically append the name of the nearest cross-street or intersecting street.

Again, the system uses a straight-line distance to determine which service vehicle is closest to a call for service. If an AVL system is used, the CAD system will look through a list of most recent reported vehicle positions. Next, the positions are compared to the service vehicle status. The CAD system may identify several of the closest units that have a status of available. The dispatcher makes an ideal choice from the CAD system shortlist.

This type of system is significantly more expensive than a zone system. The basic system may start with maps from the US Census Bureau or a county assessor's office. The quality of these maps may be good but will not be ideal for dispatching. There would normally be one or more persons on staff who would deal with data changes from new development, new streets, or data quality problems. The person would compile addresses and generate street centerlines in mapping software. Geocoding varies in accuracy depending on data sources and vendors. It normally takes years of work and planning before a system is implemented. Modern geocoded systems will often display service vehicle locations, the location of service calls, and the locations of callers on a map. This helps to disambiguate calls for service and reduces the likelihood of dispatching two reports of a single call for service as two separate calls.

Another problem comes from technologies using differing datums or coordinate systems. For example, suppose your AVL system uses degrees-decimal degrees format. The AVL display for a vehicle at the Heart Butte Post Office in Montana shows a latitude and longitude of 48.28333 N, -112.83583 W. The CAD system uses degrees-minutes-seconds format data and shows the same location as 481700N, 1125009W. How do you translate? This is sometimes a problem with neighboring CAD systems. Ideally, you should be able to send and receive calls to and from CAD systems in neighboring areas. What if the state or provincial government has standardized on a different coordinate system?

Full GIS/AVL integration
The most expensive and technically challenging systems fully utilize the capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS) and automatic vehicle location (AVL). In these systems, the street centerlines are described as routable. In addition to geocoding and accurate street centerlines, intersections have attributes or scores. Can a service vehicle turn left from eastbound Carnegie Street onto northbound Hooligan Boulevard? A scoring system is used to assess the difficulty of making the turn. At one end of the scoring system there might be an interchange where service vehicles had unrestricted access in making the turn. Perhaps both streets are one-way, making it relatively easy to turn from one onto another. In the middle scores, a left turn might be blocked occasionally by heavy traffic, a draw bridge, or street cars. At the most difficult score, the two streets may cross but the lack of any interchange does not allow service vehicles to get from one to the other.

To calculate the closest service vehicles, the CAD system does a network analysis of the road system based on these routable street centerlines. It assesses the path from the service call to the AVL location of available vehicles. The system recommends the service vehicles with the shortest path.

Routable street centerlines take into account differences between northbound and southbound lanes on a freeway or turnpike. For example, to reach a point in the southbound lanes of a turnpike, service vehicles may need to drive north to the next exit then return on the southbound side. The analysis of a routable street network takes this into account so long as the event location is accurately reported. Routable systems account for barriers like lakes by calculating the distance of the driven route rather than a straight-line distance. It is assumed the service vehicle driver knows the shortest path or that all drivers make similar numbers of wrong turns.

Concentration
CAD systems require support staff with special skills. This can lead to concentration of dispatch facilities, particularly where there is population growth or where automation is required to meet defined service objectives.

In any system, concentration of facilities increases risks of outages or massive failures. In a system where the call traffic is so high that advanced technology is needed to handle routine levels of day-to-day calls, relatively minor failures can have major effects on service levels. For example, where everyone is used to the convenience of automatic vehicle location (AVL), an AVL outage can suddenly increase staff workloads. Suppose a failure causes a condition where CAD cannot recommend a closest unit. How will the dispatcher efficiently assess which unit to assign?

Data exchange (EDI)
In public safety systems, standards are under discussion to allow disparate systems to exchange call information. For example, a call taker at the county fire department receives a call for an auto accident inside a city limit. Evolving standards will allow CAD systems to send messages to one another for calls originating outside local jurisdiction. Some entities have arrangements that already support data exchange between systems, but standards aim to make these interconnections more common. Because of auditing trail and fail-safe needs, the problem is more complex than it sounds.

The usage of EDI applied to CAD is specific to the law enforcement community and should not be confused with Electronic Document Interchange (EDI) standards for eCommerce. Within law enforcement EDI is used as a buzzword to represent all electronic automated messaging.

More mature efforts to interconnect CAD can be found in the standards developed for the Intelligent Transportation Initiatives program of Department of Transportation. This initiative sponsored the IEEE 1512 series of protocols for emergency management which provides sophisticated means to coordinate incidents across operations centers using CAD software.

Additional work is occurring under the National Information Exchange Model to link homeland security with CAD. Also the OASIS international standards body has produced standards funded in part by the DHS and the disaster management e-gov initiative to communicate in emergencies.

Other interoperability technologies can bridge disparities between the data-format, software, and hardware that constitute various computer-aided dispatch systems in various jurisdictions. Middleware, software and servers (data brokers), can translate and integrate various systems into a seamless automated dispatch system. One example of such middleware (provided by Utah-based FATPOT Technologies/CII) exists in Orange County, Calif., where the Fire Authority has integrated different emergency service answering points into a seamless dispatching network. A similar project was completed for the Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Project (SVRIP), and is part of the Dept. of Homeland Security's CADIP report.

Australia and New Zealand use the ICEMS protocol for messaging between different CAD systems operated by various emergency services organisations.

Part of business enterprise computing system
In business use of CAD, the dispatch system may be a module or part of a larger enterprise computing system. Rather than having multiple infrastructures, being able to have a single infrastructure with many applications running on it is important.

At the high end of enterprise integration for CAD there is SOS. SOS or systems of systems is a methodology and a set of technology for linking distributed independent applications into one meta-system or system of systems. These methods were originally being used at DOD for command and control (C2) but have now been applied to dispatch in efforts like the Department of Transportation Intelligent Transportation System at the Transportation Management Centers and other efforts involving DHS counterterrorism or fusion centers. Some local jurisdictions have also integrated their dispatch systems using EAI (Electronic Application Integration) software.

Recent developments
Computer aided call handling (CACH) is built on the premise that effective call handling is the foundation for an efficient dispatch response. By using structured call handling and a series of risk calculations, such systems can make objective dispatch recommendations based on information provided by the caller.

Original article

 * Horn, D. W., (2005). An Integrated Public-Safety Computer-Aided Dispatch System. In-press Master's Thesis Project, Regis University, Denver, CO.

title: Computer-aided dispatch