Over the last few days, an unexpectedly high number of ordinary citizens have come to register, or to verify their names, as voters at registration offices throughout the country. The photo above was taken in the morning of October 13, 2006, in Banteay Meanchey province.October 14, 2006
SRP PROTESTS AGAINST VIOLATION OF WORKERS’ RIGHTS DURING VOTER REGISTRATION PROCESS
In an unprecedented and indescribable mess, tens of thousands of factory workers are trying today to get registered as voters throughout the country. Coinciding with this weekend, some 300,000 factory workers residing in or nearby Phnom Penh are generally given 2 days off to travel to their native villages in the provinces to get registered. Because little preparation has been made for this massive exodus, there are huge traffic jams since the early hours of the morning. People are stuck on the road and along the Mekong since there are not enough boats and ferries to carry people across Cambodia’s main river to get from Phnom Penh to the densely populated provinces of Kompong Cham and Prey Veng. Workers have to wait for hours and most of them will not get to their native villages before this afternoon. If they are lucky enough, they will get there before the closing of registration offices at 5:00 pm.
Once arrived in their villages, workers are likely to face serious problems related to an organized chaos on the part of the ruling CPP and state authorities. The authorities apparently try to limit the number of factory workers with the right to vote because they suspect that most workers would not vote for the ruling party, which is perceived as allied with factory owners who exploit workers.
The problems encountered by workers are as follows:
1- They might not be able to locate their commune’s voter registration office, which is moving from one village to another village in that commune, according to a schedule that is too arbitrarily “flexible” to be predictable (intentional confusion).
2- The registration office, which often has already been understaffed, might definitely not be able to cope with the additional and exceptional influx of potential voters that will last for only two days.
3- The registration office might have run out of administrative forms (“Form 1018” and “Form 1022”) that are required for voter registration: this situation is now prevailing in nearly all provinces.
4- In each commune, the CPP commune chief and commune councilors who are normally encouraged to help the commune clerk to serve the people, might be absent on this occasion: such instances were reported today in Srey Santhor district, Kompong Cham province.
Eventually, most workers will return home in Phnom Penh Sunday evening (October 15) to resume work on Monday morning, without being registered as voters. The CPP will have succeeded in depriving workers of their voting rights.
SRP Members of Parliament
More information can be found here and here.
Photos can be viewed here.
Once arrived in their villages, workers are likely to face serious problems related to an organized chaos on the part of the ruling CPP and state authorities. The authorities apparently try to limit the number of factory workers with the right to vote because they suspect that most workers would not vote for the ruling party, which is perceived as allied with factory owners who exploit workers.
The problems encountered by workers are as follows:
1- They might not be able to locate their commune’s voter registration office, which is moving from one village to another village in that commune, according to a schedule that is too arbitrarily “flexible” to be predictable (intentional confusion).
2- The registration office, which often has already been understaffed, might definitely not be able to cope with the additional and exceptional influx of potential voters that will last for only two days.
3- The registration office might have run out of administrative forms (“Form 1018” and “Form 1022”) that are required for voter registration: this situation is now prevailing in nearly all provinces.
4- In each commune, the CPP commune chief and commune councilors who are normally encouraged to help the commune clerk to serve the people, might be absent on this occasion: such instances were reported today in Srey Santhor district, Kompong Cham province.
Eventually, most workers will return home in Phnom Penh Sunday evening (October 15) to resume work on Monday morning, without being registered as voters. The CPP will have succeeded in depriving workers of their voting rights.
SRP Members of Parliament
More information can be found here and here.
Photos can be viewed here.
2 comments:
My dearest people!
Please regardless which political tendency you all belong to, it is time for you all show your heart to our beloved people and country. Please set the national benefit in common, try to work together for the development of democracy and the real development of our country. Whether you are commune chiefs or NEC officers or you are CPP members or SRP members or others, allowing and facilitating our beloved people to register for the electorial right is a very good job you have to do as cambodian who love our country. All people should have similar right and authority is the key organe to ensure this right to all people. I really believe in your all compatriotism.
Sathouk! Sathouk! Sathouk!
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