Admitting he "betrayed" a promise to the Norodom Ranariddh Party, Prince Sisowath Thomico announced Tuesday he would be joining with the government coalition partner Funcinpec.
Prince Thomico said in a press conference he felt he could not gather the royalists under one banner—his true aim—by siding with the NRP.
"I have betrayed my promise, because I think that if I join NRP, I will not be able to conduct activities to gather the royalists any more," he said.
The NRP is the eponymous party of Funcinpec's former president, whose formation splintered the royalists ahead of this year's commune elections. Funcinpec was soundly defeated in the local-level elections, but remains the coalition partner of choice for the ruling Cambodian People's Party.