A good party. But it lost (AFP)Apr 4th 2007
PHNOM PENH AND POIPET
The Economist
KHOM SARAT anxiously scans the electoral roll for her name but cannot find it. She is in a hurry to go to work, at one of the many casinos in Poipet, a growing tourist town near Cambodia's border with Thailand. “I will be very upset if I can't vote,” she says. Many voters seem to have been assigned to polling stations they did not expect. Officials from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) try to help them, but some get fed up and leave without voting. As a result, said election monitors, turnout in Poipet was less than half the national average of about 70%.
Such scenes have led, inevitably, to opposition claims that Cambodia's local-commune elections on April 1st were riddled with fraud. There were also reports that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), led by the prime minister, Hun Sen, had treated voters to meals and gifts. San Sean Hor, a CPP candidate in Poipet, denies this and says the SRP is a poor loser. It lost, he says, because it “did not know the heart of the voter”.
The SRP had hoped to do well in Poipet, having courted workers at the casinos. But preliminary results showed the ruling party cruising to victory, winning seven of 11 seats. Nationwide, the CPP again crushed its rivals, winning control in 1,592 of the 1,621 communes, just six less than in the previous election in 2002. The SRP improved its tally from 13 to 27 but mainly at the expense of Cambodia's fading royalist movement, which recently split for the umpteenth time. A breakaway faction led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the movement's leader not long ago, seems to have won no communes (official results are not due until April 24th) and the rump royalist party, FUNCINPEC, won only two, down from ten last time. Prince Norodom, recently sentenced to 18 months' jail in a lawsuit over FUNCINPEC's headquarters, has fled abroad and could not campaign.
The election was far from perfect. However, Tarikul Ghani, observing it on behalf of America's National Democratic Institute, notes that there were fewer complaints and notably fewer politically motivated murders than last time—and more candidates.
It is only ten years since Mr Hun Sen staged a bloody coup to eject Prince Norodom from their joint prime ministership, amid open street warfare between political rivals. It is just three decades since the horrors of Pol Pot 's “year zero”, when perhaps a quarter of the population died. Considering its recent history, Cambodia is not doing so badly. Mr Hun Sen no longer needs to deal with his foes as harshly as he once did. Chea Vannath, a social scientist, who survived a Khmer Rouge prison camp, says the prime minister has become skilful in provoking splits among his foes and at harrying them through the courts. His party's grip on power at local and national level looks unassailable, especially now that the Cambodian economy is booming—it grew 10.5% last year and may grow 9% this. Ms Chea says he is a far better orator than any rival. He should win national elections in 2008 easily.
So confident is Mr Hun Sen these days that in January he boasted that he would not retire until he was 90. He turned 56 this week and may not last quite that long, but seems sure to run Cambodia for the foreseeable future. His critics groan at this, accusing him of running a corrupt one-man state. But the prime minister, in turn, is reported to get furious that they never give him credit for, as he sees it, bringing stability and progress to a devastated land.
Mr Hun Sen is a keen scholar of Cambodia's ancient rulers, looking to them for inspiration on achieving greatness. Cambodge Soir, a daily, recently reported that he had financed the publication of a book about Sdach Korn, a commoner who, in the 16th century, routed the country's monarchy and created a less hierarchical society. As the newspaper noted, Mr Hun Sen sees his idol as a bringer of peace and prosperity. Some historians remember him as a man thirsty for power, who never hesitated to take it by force.
Such scenes have led, inevitably, to opposition claims that Cambodia's local-commune elections on April 1st were riddled with fraud. There were also reports that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), led by the prime minister, Hun Sen, had treated voters to meals and gifts. San Sean Hor, a CPP candidate in Poipet, denies this and says the SRP is a poor loser. It lost, he says, because it “did not know the heart of the voter”.
The SRP had hoped to do well in Poipet, having courted workers at the casinos. But preliminary results showed the ruling party cruising to victory, winning seven of 11 seats. Nationwide, the CPP again crushed its rivals, winning control in 1,592 of the 1,621 communes, just six less than in the previous election in 2002. The SRP improved its tally from 13 to 27 but mainly at the expense of Cambodia's fading royalist movement, which recently split for the umpteenth time. A breakaway faction led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the movement's leader not long ago, seems to have won no communes (official results are not due until April 24th) and the rump royalist party, FUNCINPEC, won only two, down from ten last time. Prince Norodom, recently sentenced to 18 months' jail in a lawsuit over FUNCINPEC's headquarters, has fled abroad and could not campaign.
The election was far from perfect. However, Tarikul Ghani, observing it on behalf of America's National Democratic Institute, notes that there were fewer complaints and notably fewer politically motivated murders than last time—and more candidates.
It is only ten years since Mr Hun Sen staged a bloody coup to eject Prince Norodom from their joint prime ministership, amid open street warfare between political rivals. It is just three decades since the horrors of Pol Pot 's “year zero”, when perhaps a quarter of the population died. Considering its recent history, Cambodia is not doing so badly. Mr Hun Sen no longer needs to deal with his foes as harshly as he once did. Chea Vannath, a social scientist, who survived a Khmer Rouge prison camp, says the prime minister has become skilful in provoking splits among his foes and at harrying them through the courts. His party's grip on power at local and national level looks unassailable, especially now that the Cambodian economy is booming—it grew 10.5% last year and may grow 9% this. Ms Chea says he is a far better orator than any rival. He should win national elections in 2008 easily.
So confident is Mr Hun Sen these days that in January he boasted that he would not retire until he was 90. He turned 56 this week and may not last quite that long, but seems sure to run Cambodia for the foreseeable future. His critics groan at this, accusing him of running a corrupt one-man state. But the prime minister, in turn, is reported to get furious that they never give him credit for, as he sees it, bringing stability and progress to a devastated land.
Mr Hun Sen is a keen scholar of Cambodia's ancient rulers, looking to them for inspiration on achieving greatness. Cambodge Soir, a daily, recently reported that he had financed the publication of a book about Sdach Korn, a commoner who, in the 16th century, routed the country's monarchy and created a less hierarchical society. As the newspaper noted, Mr Hun Sen sees his idol as a bringer of peace and prosperity. Some historians remember him as a man thirsty for power, who never hesitated to take it by force.
9 comments:
YES, ATILLA THE HUN COMES AT THE RIGHT PLACE(CAMBODIA AND HER ROOT) AND AT THE RIGHT TIME(NO MORE COLD WAR, PEOPLE TIRED OF WAR, PEOPLE EAGER TO MAKE MONEY WHATSOEVER, AND US AND CHINA NEED HIM AND SIHANOUK IS SICK, LOW MORAL, DEPRESSED, AND OLD JUNK. HE MAY NEED A MAJOR TUNE UP).
HE WILL BE THE SECOND SIHANOUK REIGNING UNTIL HE IS OLD JUNK AND ONE DAY ANOTHER YOUNG HANDSOME GUY, MAY BE A PRETTY LADY(UNLIKELY BUT I WISH), KNOCKED HIM OFF.
....within a year the Hun dynasty will fall apart into pieces.People work for him because money and feared of their lives.
Wait ans see it.
Where are they going to hide ? their blood money ?
Your dream is not practical and
will never come true, but if it
will help you cope with your guilt
for destroying Cambodia, I suppose
it is okay to wish it, but don't
let it get into your head, okay?
The prime minister has become skilful in provoking splits among his foes and at harrying them through the courts.
Crazy blood's sucker for 90 years in power.
So the people of Cambodia will ban this in a shortcut way.
Well, there is nothing wrong with that. It's just a brilliant strategy.
I second that!!
The strength for the CPP should on the control of media, grassroot control (village chief, let one person control 10 persons), and intimidation etc. In order to defeat the CPP, the democrats need to find ways to deal with these issues.
Cheers
Khmerlovekhmer
And how does the CPP control KI
Media?
Thank God for put us (khmer) on
the right track.
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