Results of Senatorial Elections Prove That Corruption and Intimidation Cannot Destroy The Human Spirit

February 5, 2012

RESULTS OF SENATORIAL ELECTIONS PROVE THAT CORRUPTION AND INTIMIDATION CANNOT DESTROY THE HUMAN SPIRIT

CPP Prime Minister Hun Sen is reportedly furious with many of his government advisers and provincial governors who, before the January 29 senatorial elections, had assured him that the opposition SRP would not be able to win any senator seat. They had assured him that, in the worst scenario, the SRP would just be able to keep the two seats won by the opposition in 2006, thus leaving 55 seats for the ruling party out of the 57 seats up for grabs in 2012.

The rationale behind their reasoning and prediction was the following:

• Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is outside the country and SRP activists are demoralized and disorganized.
• Through vote buying the CPP would easily secure the support of more than 50 percent of the 2,660 SRP commune councillors who have the right to elect senators. If 1,000 to 1,500 SRP councillors effectively voted for the CPP, the SRP would be deprived of any senator seat, and the CPP would be in the “winner-take-all” position.

As a result of this reasoning, virtually every SRP councillor in all provinces was approached by CPP officials and was offered between US$500 and US$5,000 to sell their votes to the ruling party. This is a real fortune given the salary of a commune councillor that doesn’t exceed US$ 20 a month. This explained the confidence expressed by CPP officials in provoking the “betrayal” of most SRP councillors. This explained Hun Sen’s optimism.

In Kandal province where Hun Sen lives and votes, SRP councillors were offered the highest amount of money (US$ 5,000) to sell out to the CPP so that the Prime Minister would be very happy with the final election results… Many forms of intimidation were also used to frighten the opposition into voting for the CPP.

In the end, in spite of the prevailing extreme poverty and the very tempting CPP money offer, only 160 SRP councillors, out of 2,660, did sell out. The loyalty of the remaining 2,500 opposition councillors allowed the SRP to win nine additional senator seats, making Hun Sen extremely disappointed and very angry.

The provinces which resisted best to the CPP -- with zero defection -- are the following:

Kratie, Mondolkiri, Koh Kong, Banteay Meanchey, Oddor Meanchey and Pailin. The first three provinces are the scene of extremely brutal land confiscations and forced evictions. The last three provinces were strongholds of resistance forces fighting against the Vietnamese occupation army in the 1980s and the Phnom Penh regime in the 1990s (everybody remembers the battlefields of Svay Chek, Thmar Puok, Banteay Chhma, Banteay Ampil, Pailin, Anlong Veng, Trapeang Prasat, Samraong Chongkal, etc.).

In his final appeal to all SRP councillors who were going to cast their ballots, Sam Rainsy told them: “You are like volunteer soldiers going up to the frontline to defend your country. Volunteer soldiers fighting for their country always win over mercenaries who fight for money. Cambodia expects every one of you to do his duty.”

President Sam Rainsy’s patriotic appeal was largely heard. The 2,500 SRP councilors must be praised for their loyalty toward their country, showing that corruption and intimidation cannot destroy the human spirit.

SRP Members of Parliament