Democracy in Cambodia: With and without Sam Rainsy’s presence

Wednesday 17 March 2010
By Pen Bona
Radio France Internationale
Translated from French by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

While the Phnom Penh municipal court is in hot pursuit of the 2nd lawsuit by the government against Sam Rainsy, accusing him of falsifying border documents, a number of scenarios has been suggested regarding democracy in Cambodia. What is the consequence of Sam Rainsy’s permanent absence from Cambodia to the upcoming 2013 election, and what kind on influence will it bring to democracy in Cambodia?

Will Sam Rainsy be present in Cambodia as an opposition leader for the upcoming general election in 2013 or not? If Sam Rainsy has to remain permanently absent due to these lawsuits, what influence will this bring to democracy in Cambodia?

These are the many questions that are being raised by political observers in Cambodia. These questions come at a time when the political situation is getting more and more tense stemming from the dispute between the government and the opposition party due to border problems with Viet Nam.

In response to these questions, a number of scenarios has already been proposed in order to reflect on the future of democracy in Cambodia. The first scenario which cannot be neglected stems from the political accommodation favored by Cambodian politicians and which has been used for the past two decades. Under this scenario, there is still hope for Sam Rainsy to return back to the Cambodian political scene.

The second scenario involves the complete absence of Sam Rainsy during the upcoming 2013 election. This scenario garnered a lot of attention based on the observation. Under the scenario where Sam Rainsy would be absent during the election, two views have been proposed:

(1) The first view places high value on the opposition leader himself by linking his presence to democracy in Cambodia. Those who support this view believe that democracy in Cambodia will weaken if Sam Rainsy could not participate in the election. The weakening stems from an election that will be held without the presence of an important opposition leader, thus the election will not reflect true democratic competition because an influential competitor would be absent.

(2) The second view is opposite to the first one. Those who support this second view indicate that Sam Rainsy is not the only important character who sets the destiny of democracy in Cambodia. In reality, true democracy depends on the votes where the citizens can chose to vote for one particular party. Furthermore, there are more than one opposition party and these parties are not fighting for a single individual either, i.e. without Sam Rainsy, others can still lead the opposition, especially in Cambodia where an event can easily be forgotten in time.

The two views above have their own consequences. However, if a conclusion can be made then the truth would be revealed. The permanent absence of Sam Rainsy from the Cambodian political scene will necessarily reflect negative influence, whether small or large. This is normal, nevertheless logic dictates that no problem is better than when there is a problem. As it turns out, for the sake of democracy in Cambodia, the incident that befalls the opposition leader and that could lead to his absence in the upcoming election will surely bring shadows on democracy.

If one were to look at the state of democracy in Cambodia’s neighboring countries, Thailand is the only country that abides by democracy, whereas Vietnam and Laos are ruled by communist-like regimes still. However, in the past few years, democracy in Thailand seems to gradually lose its identity due to the numerous military coups d’état that take place and that lead to upheaval in this country.

Therefore, if one were to look at countries that surround Cambodia, there is no democracy example that Cambodia could grab to make its own. Under this condition, Cambodia should look into the region or the entire world in order to find a type of democracy that is suitable to the country condition.

Therefore, this is the path that Cambodian politicians should take to serve the interest of its people and to earn support from the international community. Under this condition, they should end problems between the ruling party and the opposition by putting an end to all lawsuits involving border issues. This is the best possible choice.