Tuesday, July 29, 2008

One Million Citizens Deprived Of Their Voting Right

July 29, 2008
Source: SRP

ONE MILLION CITIZENS DEPRIVED OF THEIR VOTING RIGHT

Civil society groups recognize that a large portion of the electorate could not vote because they could not find their names at the polling stations on July 27, 2008 as a result of organized confusion. Countless legitimate voters' names have been deleted from the voter registry. At least one million citizens suspected of sympathy for the Opposition have been disenfranchised.

The Sam Rainsy Party invites all victims of political discrimination in the current election process to gather for a protest at the SRP Phnom Penh headquarters on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 08:00 am.

Journalists and election observers are invited to come tomorrow to interview the participants.

See leaflet in Khmer below:
Click on the leaflet to zoom in

URGENT: A number of SRP activists who are currently distributing the above leaflet in the street in Phnom Penh have just been arrested by CPP-affiliated authorities and sent to jail.

For more information please call 012 788 999 or 012 831 040 or 092 888 002.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Monitors say Cambodian poll flawed
Email Print Normal font Large font July 29, 2008 - 9:03PM

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Despite improvements in electoral processes, Cambodia's recent election was flawed and did not meet key standards, international monitors said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won nearly 60 per cent of the vote in early returns from Sunday's poll, according to a partial count by Cambodian election authorities.

But the poll was marred by the CPP's domination of media coverage, the improper deletion of people from registration lists so they could not vote and other irregularities, said a preliminary report by 130 European Union election monitors.

"While the campaign was generally conducted in a more peaceful and open environment compared to previous elections, the 2008 National Assembly Elections have fallen short of a number of key international standards for democratic elections," said Martin Callanan, who lead the EU observers.

"Ultimately, it's up to the Cambodian people to accept or reject the results," Callanan said, adding that the EU would issue a more detailed report with recommendations in October.

The Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), however, called for an investigation and "a serious penalty" for manipulation of the vote.

"The election was maybe free, but not fair at all," said Somsri Hananuntasuk, head of ANFREL's election monitoring mission to Cambodia.

The main problem was people being deleted from voter lists, while there also needed to be limits on campaign financing and the ruling party's control of media, she said.

The CPP has claimed victory, saying it captured at least 90 of the 123 seats in parliament, giving them more than a two-thirds majority.

If the official results confirm the party's own tally the opposition would have little room to manoeuvre against Hun Sen, who at 55 has ruled Cambodia for 23 years.

The four minority parties rejected the outcome, accusing the CPP of fiddling with the voter rolls to ensure their victory.

Hun Sen has vowed to remain in power until he is 90 years old, and has relentlessly undercut his political rivals.

Anonymous said...

Cambodia's poll 'did not meet key international standards'
17 minutes ago

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Despite improvements in electoral processes, Cambodia's recent election was flawed and did not meet key standards, international monitors said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 59.6 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, compared with nearly 21 percent for the nearest rival, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, according to a partial count by Cambodian electoral authorities.

But the poll was marred by the CPP's domination of media coverage, the improper deletion of people from registration lists so they could not vote, and other irregularities, said a preliminary report by 130 European Union election monitors.

"While the campaign was generally conducted in a more peaceful and open environment compared to previous elections, the 2008 National Assembly Elections have fallen short of a number of key international standards for democratic elections," said Martin Callanan, who led the EU observers.

"Ultimately, it's up to the Cambodian people to accept or reject the results," Callanan said, adding that the EU would issue a more detailed report with recommendations in October.

The Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL) called for an investigation and "a serious penalty" for manipulation of the vote.

"The election was maybe free, but not fair at all," said Somsri Hananuntasuk, head of ANFREL's election monitoring mission to Cambodia.

The main problem was people being deleted from voter lists, while there also needed to be limits on campaign financing and the ruling party's control of media, she said.

The EU calculated that 50,000 voters were left off rolls, but Callanan said that would not have greatly affected the election since early results show a large majority for the CPP.

"Any irregularities that were proved would clearly have to be on a very large scale in order to invalidate that result," he said.

However, the four minority parties rejected the outcome, accusing the CPP of fiddling with the voter rolls to ensure their victory.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy estimated that one million out of 8.1 million registered voters had been cut from the rolls. He said his party members observed 50 to 100 people at each of the country's 15,000 polling stations had been unable to vote.

"The large-scale irregularities here can change the result of the election. I'm disappointed that such a so-called expert could make such a mistake," Sam Rainsy told AFP Tuesday outside the EU's press conference.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted lower violence from previous elections but said in a Tuesday statement it had observed "threats, intimidation and inducements directed against political activists" to get them to change parties.

The CPP has claimed victory, saying it captured at least 90 of the 123 seats in parliament, giving them more than a two-thirds majority.

Local rights groups have expressed concern that if the CPP did secure a majority there would be fewer checks and balances in the country's fledgling democracy.

At 55, Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for 23 years and has vowed to remain in power until he is 90. He had been widely tipped to win amid a booming economy and nationalist sentiment sparked by a border feud with Thailand.

Anonymous said...

Ah Hun Sen dog is suckling Nguyen Tan Dung's dick daily that is why he acts like commies.

Anonymous said...

1 millions didn't get to vote doesn't mean anything. 6-7 millions is enough to determine the winner.

Let's move on and stop bickering.

Anonymous said...

Sam Rainsy claimed during the voters registration that his party had then lost election because of the registration rigging.

Yet, he maintained he was going to win until the election day.

When did he lie?

Kuoy Pichet