Cambodians gear up for election

Cambodians have been returning to their home villages to vote

Saturday, 26 July 2008
BBC News

"Cambodian politicians and party activists know the CPP will use violence if necessary" - Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch

Millions of Cambodians are preparing to vote in an election widely expected to return Prime Minister Hun Sen to office, with a firmer grip on power.

His Cambodian People's Party holds 73 assembly seats out of 123, and analysts say his majority is likely to increase.

The prime minister, who has ruled since 1985, has gained huge approval for taking tough stance in an ongoing dispute with neighbouring Thailand.

The countries are arguing over land surrounding an ancient monument.

Both nations have massed troops near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple - which belongs to Cambodia.

Each claims the land surrounding the temple, and the dispute has raised nationalist fervour in Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

"People are more focused on the border issue at Preah Vihear temple than on the election," Hang Puthea, who heads an election-monitoring body, told AFP news agency.

Cambodia is due to hold talks with Thailand on the issue on Monday.

No more coalition?

Eleven parties are contesting polls, but most analysts believe the CPP will secure another five-year term in power.

Under Hun Sen, Cambodia has achieved high economic growth - helped by revenue from the garment and tourist industries.

But the country is also experiencing soaring inflation and there is growing discontent over endemic corruption - both of which could favour opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

The Sam Rainsy Party - which has a strong power base in Phnom Penh, but is weaker in rural areas - currently holds 24 seats in the 123-seat parliament.

The CPP, with 73 seats, has been ruling in a coalition with royalist party Funcinpec, which holds 26 seats.

But a 2006 constitutional amendment means the CPP requires only a simple majority - rather than a two-thirds majority - to rule in its own right.

So all the indications are the CPP will be returned to office, with no need for a coalition partner.

Poll violence

Tens of thousands of Cambodia's eight million registered voters have left the cities to vote in their home villages.

Campaigning has stopped and a ban on alcohol has been enforced to ensure a peaceful poll - the fourth since decades of civil war ended.

Previous elections have been hit by violence. Scores of people - mainly opposition supporters and activists - were killed or beaten in the run-up to elections in 1998.

This one has passed off comparatively smoothly, but rights groups have flagged up ruling party control of the media and intimidation of opposition activists as continuing problems.

"Cambodian politicians and party activists know the CPP will use violence if necessary - which means the ruling party doesn't need to do so," said Brad Adams, of US-based Human Rights Watch.

Both international and domestic monitors will be on hand to monitor the polls - which open at 0700 (0000 GMT) and close eight hours later.