Cambodia's ruling and opposition parties agreed Tuesday to form a joint committee for an electoral reform towards free and fair elections in the future, a joint statement said.

"Both sides agreed to establish a joint committee, which will comprise the equal number of members from the parties that have seats in the National Assembly, in order to study and prepare a framework for an electoral reform so as to ensure free and fair elections in the future,"the statement said after a working group meeting between the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

To prepare the framework for the electoral reform, the would-be joint committee will hold a national seminar to hear opinions and recommendations from national and international circles including development partners, political parties, civil society organizations and other related actors, it said.

"The meeting came to fruition, so we hope that it will reach the settlement of the ongoing political conflict in the near future," CNRP negotiation team leader Son Chhay said in a joint press conference.

CPP negotiation team leader Prum Sokha said the meeting produced a positive outcome for both sides.

"The two teams will report the outcome of the meeting to their respective leaders and agreed to meet again before setting a top meeting for the leaders of the two parties,"he said.

Political row between Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling CPP and Sam Rainsy's opposition CNRP has persisted since the July election results showed that the CPP won 68 parliamentary seats against 55 seats for the CNRP.

Claiming serious irregularities during the poll, the CNRP refused to accept the outcome and has boycotted parliament and held many protests -- some of which had turned violent -- in order to demand the resignation of Hun Sen and a re-election.

Hun Sen has said that he would neither step down nor call a re- vote.

Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy met twice in September in a bid to resolve their political differences, but the talks failed to reach any agreements.