Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha at a press conference Thursday to announce a union of their opposition parties. (Photo by: Tracey Shelton)Friday, 16 January 2009
Written by Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post
Parties say the new Democratic Movement for Change will merge goals and platforms but preserve individual identities.
SAM Rainsy Party President Sam Rainsy and Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha Thursday signed an agreement to align under the name Democratic Movement for Change (DMC), with the objective of providing stronger oppostion to the ruling Cambodian People's Party. However, both parties have refused to confirm they will merge into one political party.
"We have worked together for a long time, and we realised the political trend in the world is moving towards change, such as in the US with [President-elect Barack] Obama. Therefore, in order to make a change, we have to gather all the democrats for unification," Sam Rainsy told the Post.
Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha said experts from each party would continue to study technical planning issues and devise a joint platform in hopes of making the DMC internally a stronger union and externally more interesting to eligible voters.
Last year, of the 6.01 million people who cast their votes in the national election, the CPP received the support of 3.48 million, the SRP snagged 1.31 million votes and the HRP won 397,816 votes.
"Eligible voters demand us to unite," said Kem Sokha. "Now it is time to give a choice to people who want to make a change."
He added: "We hope that our movement will encourage eligible voters who have lost faith to come back to politics."
Handle with care
Koul Panha, executive director of election monitoring at the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel) told the Post Thursday the merging of the opposition parties will gain voters' interest, but they need to work together carefully. Otherwise, the union could easily fall apart.
"I think that one political organisation would be able to change the result in future elections," Panha said. "One party is stronger than two under a political alliance."
The SRP and HRP have committed to making one list of candidates for the next commune elections, scheduled for 2012, and the national elections in 2013.
But National Election Committee Chairman Im Suosdey said the political alliance comprised two political parties and was not legally capable of making one united list of candidates.
"Within the legal processes we have, a list of the party's candidates has to come from one [single] political party. They cannot make a list of candidates from two parties," Im Suosdey said.
SAM Rainsy Party President Sam Rainsy and Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha Thursday signed an agreement to align under the name Democratic Movement for Change (DMC), with the objective of providing stronger oppostion to the ruling Cambodian People's Party. However, both parties have refused to confirm they will merge into one political party.
"We have worked together for a long time, and we realised the political trend in the world is moving towards change, such as in the US with [President-elect Barack] Obama. Therefore, in order to make a change, we have to gather all the democrats for unification," Sam Rainsy told the Post.
Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha said experts from each party would continue to study technical planning issues and devise a joint platform in hopes of making the DMC internally a stronger union and externally more interesting to eligible voters.
"One party is stronger than two under a political alliance. "Kem Sokha said about 50 percent of the 8.12 million eligible voters in Cambodia would not cast their ballot for the CPP in the 2012 elections - and the alliance was hoping to draw all those votes behind it.
Last year, of the 6.01 million people who cast their votes in the national election, the CPP received the support of 3.48 million, the SRP snagged 1.31 million votes and the HRP won 397,816 votes.
"Eligible voters demand us to unite," said Kem Sokha. "Now it is time to give a choice to people who want to make a change."
He added: "We hope that our movement will encourage eligible voters who have lost faith to come back to politics."
Handle with care
Koul Panha, executive director of election monitoring at the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel) told the Post Thursday the merging of the opposition parties will gain voters' interest, but they need to work together carefully. Otherwise, the union could easily fall apart.
"I think that one political organisation would be able to change the result in future elections," Panha said. "One party is stronger than two under a political alliance."
The SRP and HRP have committed to making one list of candidates for the next commune elections, scheduled for 2012, and the national elections in 2013.
But National Election Committee Chairman Im Suosdey said the political alliance comprised two political parties and was not legally capable of making one united list of candidates.
"Within the legal processes we have, a list of the party's candidates has to come from one [single] political party. They cannot make a list of candidates from two parties," Im Suosdey said.
22 comments:
Dear Friends and Compatriots,
It appears that this forum has been infiltrated by a Western troublemaker.
He comes here and brags about his sexual exploits in Cambodia, using the most foul language imaginable to look down at and degrade our people.
But I don't blame him, for he is just one of the hundreds of thousands of white males exploiting the desperate conditions in our country.
Rather, I blame all the Khmer traitors who wish to sell our country out to the Westerners, who invite these filthy animals to degrade our women and children, and to look down on our people.
- Khmer Patriot, Ph.D.
I appriciate that both parties are unified but since DMC is now lacking of Resources (budget and human), I don't think it can compete with the CPP.
Don't worry! Soon all the CPP heads will defect to the new party.
I just created one website, hope you enjoy to view it thanks
Both parties have no choice but to form a single party to be effective so they can put a dent on the very strong base of the CPP who has control of every mass media outlets in the country and every institutions such as the courts, the Supreme Court, the Institutional Court and the Election Board... If they chose not to do it, then they will have to wait until their next lifetime to see changes in Cambodian political lanscapes. I don't think it's illegal to have one list of candidates from 2 parties. All they have to do is NOT to have candidates from both parties running in the same electoral district. However, what is the point of forming an alliance that allows CPP to stay in power forever? Here is a possible scenario for the next election: let say the CPP will get 60 seats, the SRP will get 40 seats, the HRP will get 22 seats and another party will get 1seat. In this case, the CPP will have the right to form a new goverment with the support of either SRP or HRP. Then either SRP or HRP will have to leave this so-called DMC just like Prince Norodom Nararith did to SRP twice before. But if the SRP and HRP were one party, with 62 seats they can form a new government easily. This is a too optimistic scenario. I just want the show the enormous benefits of one party vs the alliance of 2 or more parties.
Good luck and Have a nice day!
It's just the same old song with a different name.
Cambodia is not an immigration country like USA. The dream of the Democratic Movement for Change to win the election will be an illusion.
By democracy they want to turn our country into a whorehouse. Old white men can come here and pick and choose 18 or 19 year old Khmer girls as they want and even screw young children as young as 5 or 6 years old. The democrats don't care. They're inviting all the white fucks here to screw their daughters and sisters.
"SAM Rainsy Party President Sam Rainsy and Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha Thursday signed an agreement to align under the name Democratic Movement for Change (DMC), with the objective of providing stronger oppostion to the ruling Cambodian People's Party. However, both parties have refused to confirm they will merge into one political party."
What is with the excitement? Unless they merge, they can't add all the vote up to defeat the CPP.
Hmm ... I don't know about this. Cambodia is developing very rapidly right now. Why would anyone wants to change it? Slowing down growth will only caused more suffering in the country.
Each one of this party still have something hiding behind their back. I think they still having a lot of issue to work on. If they don't come up with a good compromise, they will loose the support of the people.
HUN SEN and it clan freaking out?
yes definitely ,they afraid of khmer United.
Mr.PHD TUK TUK you will unemployed soon.
No one can predict exactly what would happen in the future. The world oders change gradually. Dictatorship or totalitarianism is less and less welcome in the world, for more and more people are well educated. A leader of country need to be educated. They must be tested for leadership qualities. Now let's look at the qualities of the three monkeys ruling Cambodia today. Such low moral rustics would never in a million years have a chance to be anything in a goverment if they were not installed in power by the Yuon invaders.
The union between SRP and HRP can encourage more white tourists to come to our country.
When the white perverts come, so will the Yuon whores and pimps. This is what happen when UNTAC arrived. They didn't only bring 5 million Yuons into the country, but they also brought AIDS to kill more than a million Khmers.
The pro-Western democrats are the ones destroying Cambodia and speeding up Vietnamization of Cambodia. People fail to understand that where there is shit (white perverts), there are also flies (Yuons).
- Khmer Patriot, Ph.D.
Then why there are millions of Yuons in Cambodia since there are whites or westerners going to visit Cambodia?
We need change in Cambodia.
Members of SRP and most of the cambodians wish that every of their living's day.
The problem is to choose the new real leader !
Khmer Canadian
10:40 PM - As I said, the white perverts were the shit that attracted millions of flies (Yuon prostitutes and pimps) to Cambodia.
The Yuons are here because of UNTAC, not because of the policies of the CPP.
Before the Yuons could even utter a word of Khmer, they knew how to attract their customers in English: "Me sucky, me fucky, me love you long time!"
- Khmer Patriot, Ph.D.
Why don't the white perverts just go directly to Vietnam for fk?
It's best for all of us here at KI-Media not to respond/interact with this so-called Ph.D troller/sabotageur at 11:01 PM.
Thanks.
Ah Heng Soy!
I want you to stop the abusive activities of the white fucks who come here to curse and look down at the Khmer people.
Good idea 12:38AM.Please don't read and respond when you see his comment.For the best KI should limit one comment on one article only.
See what I mean? Ah Pleu-oversea is too stupid too understand anything, so they always got excuses from learning from other people.
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