ABC Radio Australia
Foreign observors have been keeping a close eye on campaigning and will be out at polling stations on Sunday.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Roderick Brazier,Country Representative for The Asia Foundation in Cambodia
BRAZIER: The atmosphere is pretty good. I think we always have to remember in Cambodia that elections in the mid '90s were accompanied by hundreds-and-hundreds of deaths. Your earlier report mentioned intimidation and violence, but on a very much reduced scale from earlier election campaigns, which I think is a marker of progress here.
LAM: It's progress by Cambodian standards though, isn't it?
BRAZIER: Well absolutely, if you compare Cambodia with advanced democracies, there is still a lot to go. But I would argue that even compared to some democracies in the neighbourhood, like Thailand and the Philippines. The violence is relatively minor concern, compared to the overall picture of progress here.
LAM: Rod, what kind of monitoring is in place to see that the election is free and fair?
BRAZIER: There will be quite significant monitoring undertaken by local NGOs, Comfrel and Nicfec, the two major local election organisations and they will have literally thousands of individuals at polling stations. There are international agencies that will have both local and international monitors at polling stations across the country.
LAM: And when I was in Phnom Penh earlier this month, I noticed CPP posters pasted up everywhere, but, very few for the opposition parties. Have they been able to get their message out to the people?
BRAZIER: The opposition parties they are a little constrained. I would argue that the main constraint is financial. The CPP is very wealthy and can afford to print millions of posters and place hundreds of ads on television and radio. I think the opposition parties simply don't have as much money.
There are some other constraints which your report alluded to, some opposition rallies are disrupted or impeded by CPP supporters, but as your report mentioned, that's mainly been in non-violent disruptive ways so far.
LAM: So from your observation, you think that the CPP actually does have a fair amount of popularity out there amongst the masses?
BRAZIER: The CPP is very popular here in Cambodia. It's something of a puzzle to Western observers, because this is a party with a chequered past. But from an ordinary Cambodians point of view, they have never been so wealthy, they have never had so many opportunities for employment, the country has never been so stable and most of all, infrastructure is being built, sealed roads, clinics and schools are being built and used for the first time. And surveys that have been conducted by the International Republican Institute confirm that for close to 80 per cent of Cambodians, it's infrastructure that they care about the most and the CPP is smart enough now to provide that infrastructure.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Roderick Brazier,Country Representative for The Asia Foundation in Cambodia
BRAZIER: The atmosphere is pretty good. I think we always have to remember in Cambodia that elections in the mid '90s were accompanied by hundreds-and-hundreds of deaths. Your earlier report mentioned intimidation and violence, but on a very much reduced scale from earlier election campaigns, which I think is a marker of progress here.
LAM: It's progress by Cambodian standards though, isn't it?
BRAZIER: Well absolutely, if you compare Cambodia with advanced democracies, there is still a lot to go. But I would argue that even compared to some democracies in the neighbourhood, like Thailand and the Philippines. The violence is relatively minor concern, compared to the overall picture of progress here.
LAM: Rod, what kind of monitoring is in place to see that the election is free and fair?
BRAZIER: There will be quite significant monitoring undertaken by local NGOs, Comfrel and Nicfec, the two major local election organisations and they will have literally thousands of individuals at polling stations. There are international agencies that will have both local and international monitors at polling stations across the country.
LAM: And when I was in Phnom Penh earlier this month, I noticed CPP posters pasted up everywhere, but, very few for the opposition parties. Have they been able to get their message out to the people?
BRAZIER: The opposition parties they are a little constrained. I would argue that the main constraint is financial. The CPP is very wealthy and can afford to print millions of posters and place hundreds of ads on television and radio. I think the opposition parties simply don't have as much money.
There are some other constraints which your report alluded to, some opposition rallies are disrupted or impeded by CPP supporters, but as your report mentioned, that's mainly been in non-violent disruptive ways so far.
LAM: So from your observation, you think that the CPP actually does have a fair amount of popularity out there amongst the masses?
BRAZIER: The CPP is very popular here in Cambodia. It's something of a puzzle to Western observers, because this is a party with a chequered past. But from an ordinary Cambodians point of view, they have never been so wealthy, they have never had so many opportunities for employment, the country has never been so stable and most of all, infrastructure is being built, sealed roads, clinics and schools are being built and used for the first time. And surveys that have been conducted by the International Republican Institute confirm that for close to 80 per cent of Cambodians, it's infrastructure that they care about the most and the CPP is smart enough now to provide that infrastructure.
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