Youth vote can't stop Hun Sen, says CPP

Friday, 21 March 2008
Written by Vong Sokheng and Gemma Deavin
The Phnom Penh Post

With more than 55 percent of the Cambodian population aged 18-30, a mobilized youth vote could sway the upcoming national elections in July, democracy watchers like to point out.

But although one of the major parties is actively wooing youth voters into its party, the ruling CPP dismissed the idea that young voters want to oust Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hun Sen this month accused the Sam Rainsy Party of bringing youths into the political fray in order to fight him. “They are dragging in a youth movement to topple Hun Sen from the position,” he said in a March 5 speech following the SRP’s national youth congress.

Hun Sen added he would leave it to the voters to “fight back in the upcoming elections.”

But Cheam Yeap, a member of the CPP’s Central Standing Committee, went further, telling the Post on March 19 that he thought it would be impossible for a youth vote to oust Hun Sen this year.

The voter registration process is already closed. National Elections Committee Secretary General Tep Nytha estimated 300,000 new young voters registered in 2007. He said the number increases every year.

“I don’t really know how many youth members there are within the CPP, but the CPP has five million members and many youths within the university and graduates are supporters of Hun Sen,” Nytha said.

He added that Hun Sen often gives speeches to graduating classes.

“I think that even if the SRP has more than 100,000 youths as members it is still not enough of a voice to topple Prime Minister Hun Sen,” he said.

In launching its national youth congress, the SRP said it had about 52,000 youth members from 17 provinces.

The party also elected a youth representative March 2 to sit at its executive committee.

The representative, 28-year-old San Seak Kin of Phnom Penh, will be able to contribute directly to the party’s political platform, said SRP parliamentarian Tioulong Saumura, Sam Rainsy’s wife.

Saumura admitted that until recently many older Cambodians had no idea that the youth contribution could be so important.

“Young people are surprisingly determined, committed, active and politically minded.

“People who have never received political training show such a high level of maturity,” she said. “There is a freshness and spontaneity in people who have not suffered from intimidation.

“Young are more daring and audacious because they have not had the bad experience of suffering.”

Although many elections observers said youths in Cambodia want change, none could point to any strong evidence that young people were likely to affect the upcoming elections.

“Most young people understand the importance of politics but they just stay under the control of older politicians,” said Khmer Students Association program coordinator Saro Sovudhi.

“Maybe in ten years young people will have some real power,” he said.

Figures derived from official results of the 2007 commune council elections show there are of the 11,353 elected commune councilors nationwide. However, only 163, or 1.6 percent, are youths. There are no parliamentarians under the age of 30 despite the minimum permissible age being 25.

Nevertheless, some education campaigns are gearing up to encourage participation in politics.

A 2007 survey conducted by the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) found young peoples’ grasp of the voting registration process was patchy.

Since then COMFREL has signed a contract with United Nations Development Program to help run a forum before the elections to train youth from major political parties and youth associations on the importance of networking and cooperation in politics.

“This election is just the beginning for youth to increase their voices,” said COMFREL executive director Koul Panha.

But Panha said the parties don’t let young people do much. “They have used youth movements to support them but they don’t give them any influence or power in decision making,” he said.

The idea of the UNDP program is to promote the idea that “if they all have a common agenda, they should come together,” he added.

“After the election we will bring them together again and talk about the political platforms of different parties and how they can respond.”

The forum covers ten of Cambodia’s 185 districts but plans to expand.

The Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC) is training youth in monitoring and advocacy.

The Youth Council of Cambodia is also running some education programs in 12 target provinces for 13- to 17-year-olds and for 18- to 23-year-olds. The older group looks at democracy, the election process and good governance.