In April 1955, before leaving for a summit with Asian and African states in Bandung Indonesia, Sihanouk announced the formation his own political party, the Sangkum, and expressed interest in competing in the general elections slated to be held in September 1955. While the Sangkum was, in effect, a political party, Sihanouk argued that the Sangkum should be seen as a political "organisation", and explained that he could accommodate people with differing political orientations on the sole condition that they pledged fealty to the monarchy. The creation of the Sangkum was seen as a move to dissolve the political parties.