Friday, December 29, 2006

Hang Puthea: "[The CPP] needs another small party around...to show that the [election] process is democratic"

Thursday, December 28, 2006
Even Without NA Seat, F'pec Would Join Gov't: PM

By Van Roeun and John Maloy
THE CAMBODIA DAILY

Stressing the strength of his ruling CPP’s coalition with Funcinpec, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that if Funcinpec did not win a single seat in the 2008 election it would still serve as the CPP’s coalition party.

"[We] continue...generation after generation, if the people vote for [us]," the prime minister said, speaking at a road inauguration ceremony in Oddar Meanchey province's Anlong Veng district.

"Even if Funcinpec wins no seats, Hun Sen takes it to work in the coalition government because it is the winner's right," he said.

Hun Sen did not mention Prince Norodom Ranariddh by name but accused an unnamed individual, recently ousted by the coalition partner of the CPP, of acting in bad faith.

The prime minister claimed that this man had repeatedly gone behind the back of the CPP despite claiming to be a partner.

"It is not a joke," Hun Sen said. "The alliance was [about] working together in the coalition government and he shook hands with the opposition."

Prince Ranariddh was ousted from the presidency of Funcinpec in late October.

Funcinpec spokesman Nouv Sovathero said that his party's leaders were very pleased with Hun Sen's promise of future jobs, regardless of their voter popularity. "We cannot get zero.... We will win a large number of seats," he said.

Koul Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said that he doubted the sincerity of Hun Sen's vow to work with a seat-less Funcinpec.

"I think that this is a politician's statement and not a real remark," he said.

Koul Panha noted that it was reminiscent of what Hun Sen used to promise Prince Ranariddh, but now the prime minister says that he can no longer work with the prince.

Hun Sen's promise was likely part of a strategy to keep royalist voters and Funcinpec officials from defecting to the prince's fledgling Norodom Ranariddh Party.

Hang Puthea, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia, said that the possibility of Funcinpec not getting a single seat in parliament was a very real concern because of the inevitable split of the royalist vote between Funcinpec and the NRP.

The CPP, however, has a self-interest in keeping royalist voters with Funcinpec.

"[The CPP] needs another small party around...to show that the [election] process is democratic," Hang Puthea said.

"If they are the only party, it does not show democracy."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

they are their "chhkee"...dog anyway....what is different....let youn take over.....

Anonymous said...

Oh well! It is AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave's right to manipulate the ballot box to his advantage! Don't worry dirt poor Cambodian people because AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave will use more assassination, intimidation, and coersion to get his way and this is a AH HUN SEN way of being a winner!

Does any Cambodian people remembered when AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave lost election in May 1993! This fucken bastard had betrayed Cambodian history and he doesn't even know it! This fucken bastard sure have a selective memory about all the good thing and not the bad thing that change the course of Cambodian history!

Why this fucken bastard is afraid to step down because he is afraid to die! And die you must fucker!