Opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha in VOA Studio In Washington, DC, file photo.
by Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer 18.01.2013
WASHINGTON
DC - Cambodia’s opposition parties have asked to meet with members of
its election committee, seeking to deliver recommendations for improved
elections in July.
The opposition says the National Election Committee is biased toward the ruling party, leading to faulty voter registration and elections that risk being seen as illegitimate by the international community.
Their concerns include the ruling party’s near monopoly on broadcast and print media, the use of state property and civil servants for campaigning and a lack of opposition representation in local election committees.
The National Election Committee on Wednesday said opposition leaders must put their request in formally, in writing, if they are unhappy with the election procedures.
Kem Sokha, head of the opposition Human Rights Party, and Kong Koam, acting head of the Sam Rainsy Party, whose leader remains in exile, said in a letter to Im Soursdey, the chairman of the NEC, that the current election law will not make for credible elections.
The NEC has said it will meet with all all political parties and members of civil society to hear their recommendations after Jan. 24. Tep Nitha, secretary-general of the NEC, said Thursday the committee will not meet with people beforehand.
However, Kem Sokha told VOA Khmer on Wednesday that a separate meeting should be held between opposition and NEC leaders. “We want to have a mutual compromise, to have a free and fair and credible election,” he said.
Opposition leaders want fair election procedures in place before the election, he said. They do not want to protest or dismiss the elections after they are already held, he said.
Kuoy Bunroeun, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the NEC has continually ignored proposals for improved elections from the opposition. The rules of the elections have not changed, despite criticism in the past, he said.
“That is the status quo, and if the preparation is still the same, the election result will be the same, and nothing will have changed at all,” he said.
The opposition says the National Election Committee is biased toward the ruling party, leading to faulty voter registration and elections that risk being seen as illegitimate by the international community.
Their concerns include the ruling party’s near monopoly on broadcast and print media, the use of state property and civil servants for campaigning and a lack of opposition representation in local election committees.
The National Election Committee on Wednesday said opposition leaders must put their request in formally, in writing, if they are unhappy with the election procedures.
Kem Sokha, head of the opposition Human Rights Party, and Kong Koam, acting head of the Sam Rainsy Party, whose leader remains in exile, said in a letter to Im Soursdey, the chairman of the NEC, that the current election law will not make for credible elections.
The NEC has said it will meet with all all political parties and members of civil society to hear their recommendations after Jan. 24. Tep Nitha, secretary-general of the NEC, said Thursday the committee will not meet with people beforehand.
However, Kem Sokha told VOA Khmer on Wednesday that a separate meeting should be held between opposition and NEC leaders. “We want to have a mutual compromise, to have a free and fair and credible election,” he said.
Opposition leaders want fair election procedures in place before the election, he said. They do not want to protest or dismiss the elections after they are already held, he said.
Kuoy Bunroeun, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the NEC has continually ignored proposals for improved elections from the opposition. The rules of the elections have not changed, despite criticism in the past, he said.
“That is the status quo, and if the preparation is still the same, the election result will be the same, and nothing will have changed at all,” he said.
14 comments:
TROVV KHNEAR TAI THNAK LEU....TAI THNAKK KRAUM MIN TORN TROV KHNEAR 100% NOUSS WEARR DEARR TAI KHNAUCH TIES....AH NA KOR DAUCH LAUK NA DAI...NIS CHEEAR CHAREITH AKROKK RO BORSS KHMER TANG PEE KAM NEITH.
khmer chorl Mashiet.
អាង្វៀង សម រង្ស៊ី + អាង្វៀង កឹំម សុខា=
អាឆ្កែទាំងពីរក្បាលនេះប្រឆាំងតែខ្មែរ
វាជាជនក្បត់ជាតិ ពិតៗ!
ខ្មែរស្នេហាជាតិ?
មិនមែនទេដឹង?
ខ្មែរស្នេហាជាតិ...ឬ....ខ្មែរស្នេហាបក្ស?
ខ្មែរស្នេហាជាតិ?...ឬ...ខ្មែរស្នេហាបុកគល់?
________________________________
ខ្មែរជាជាតិ?....ឬ.....អាសំរាំង ស៊ីជាជាតិ?
________________________________
ខ្មែរស្នេហាអាបុកគល់ សំរាំង ស៊ី?
ខ្មែរស្នេហាអាបុកគល់ កឹម សុខា?
ខ្មែរស្នេហាបុកគល់មីស.មនារី មួ សុខហួ?
ខ្មែរស្នេហាអាបុកគល់ សុន ឆៃ?
5:08am & 5:12am,
You can't even write English and you still bark like Mexican Chihuahua. You need to go back to school, since you're the most stupid and ignorant individual in Cambodia.
You're nothing but a barking dog with no peace in mind except dreaming of more $$$!
Why don't you look closely on your communist father Ah Hun Shit, how he treated poor Cambodian farmers? Does he really cares about their welfare, and their living conditions, etc..?
Your problems is: you just don't like opposition parties. We called it opposition party is because they're don't agree with your father shitty policy. Without opposition parties, your CPP shit is nothing but an isolated communist monkey party.
Even without CRNP, you still not happy. Why? because you and your shit father are communist mindset. Just wake-up before it's too late!
In 1993, under the supervision of UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia), National Election Committee (NEC) was independent and neutral and served the national interests of Cambodia by :
(a) assisting eligible-Cambodian voters to register,
(b) making sure that they were able to vote freely, and
(c) ensuring that none were disenfranchised, while at the same time, no one other than eligible Cambodians could have the right to vote. In all aspects, NEC treated all political parties on equal footing.
For about two decades, since the CPP became the ruling party, NEC is no longer the same. With its chair, deputy chair and members proposed by the Minister of Interior (a CPP member) and selected by the National Assembly (with CPP in the majority), NEC becomes an instrument used by CCP to maintain and reinforce its powers and dictatorship.
Furthermore, the CPP uses the powers of the judiciary, also under its firm control, to silence the opposition parties; especially so when the opposition protest against difficulties created by the CPP authorities to prevent the genuine eligible Cambodian voters from obtaining formal registration, while diligently granting formal registration to the illegal Vietnamese immigrants. Most of these irregularities and abuses of powers are documented by the Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (Comfrel) in its 2011 Report on Democracy, Election and Reform in Cambodia.
With such flawed election authorities managing the “so called” democratic electoral process, intimidation, coercion, cheating, discrimination, registration and voter listing irregularities, vote buying, balloting and vote counting/manipulation and result reporting by ruling local authorities under a marching order from the top echelon of the CPP are the many faces of the election abuses in Cambodia.
Additionally, there is a troubling influx of millions of illegal Vietnamese immigrants who have been facilitated to be “eligible voters” by the ruling authorities and are not Cambodian citizens. They are believed to vote in favor of the ruling party thus these Vietnamese help determine the fate of our country. This cruel fact is a very serious and dangerous threat to the sovereignty of Cambodia and its very survival and existence in the world. It is a new form of colonization of Cambodia by its powerful neighbor Vietnam.
6:27 AM Your analysis is excellent. You hit the nail on the head.
We Khmer electors request that National election Committee (NEC) must be reformed as proposed by Dr Surya Subedi, United Nation Special Rapporteur to Cambodia. In addition, NEC must be an independent organization separated from Ministry of Interior.
ពួកអាឆ្កែអង្គែស៊ីអាយ៉ងយួន ពួកឯងហ្នឹងអីក៏ភ្លើម៉្លេះថាអ្នកណាខ្មែរមិនស្នេហាជាតិ មានតែពួកអាក្បត់ជាតិឯងហ្នឹងហើយ!កញ្ជះយួន មកធ្វើបាបខ្មែរ ពួកអានរក៥០០ជាតិ!ពួកឯងសប្បាយលក់ជាតិទៅ!ថ្ងៃអន្សាពួកហ្អែងជិតមកដល់ហើយពួកអាលាមក!!!
Change is needed ASAP by 2013 or else cambodia has to be the next syria, afganistain, Iraq, etc.
It makes the leaders of CNRP look stupid when they know for sure that the NEC is incurable . The head of NEC is within Hun Sen' party line . what is CNRP 's incentive offer to make the NEC head to change his mindset and work as the opposition's wishes . Accept or boycott ? it is not made to be modified . Time to
wake up and find a better strategy . Now , Hun Sen is declared winner in Obama's mind that's why the USA talk flip-flop with him .
Obama knows fully well about the Hun sin regime and is not keen of helping in anyway...' alot more yet needs to be done in cambodia in term of human right approaches' make no mistake when the president talks, today you are a leader and tomorrow you are not. VC and Chinese will only good at helping to kill on top of that 'decrease in population growth' in so to speak and since cambodia is full of corrupted people might as well eliminate it all. Hopefully soon, goodbye Mr hun sin
TO 5:08,
Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha are not fighting with khmers,they fight witrh yuons who use hun sen and his
gangs as puppets to steal khmer
natural resources and to swallow
Cambodia.That's why their new
party is called the national rescue party.U understand?
ពួកអាឆ្កែអង្គែស៊ី ក្បាលរឹង-ក្តទន់
ភ្លើផ្ភ្ញាប់មុខ-ស្វាចុយភ្នែក...
យកអាចម៍អាចាញ់សំរាំង ស៊ីដាក់លើក្បាល
ធ្វើជា (ជាតិ) ?
we, Khmer Nationalists, must support our patriotic leaders, Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha to win the national election first and then use all legal means such as International court of Justice at the Hague and the United Nations based on Cambodia Map deposited at the UN in 1963 and the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement (1991 PPA).
Sam Rainsy is the best Kaun Khmer patriot who dares to declare that Vietnam is the new colonialist that annexed most of Cambodian territory. That is why he is the only Khmer that Vietnam is afraid of. Vietnam try by all mean to eliminate him from Cambodia by using its puppet government and kangaroo court in Cambodia to deny Sam Rainsy in entering Cambodia. This is the 21st century; Vietnam can not colonize Cambodia as the last century. The 1991 PPA signed by 19 signatory countries including Cambodia and Vietnam will protect Cambodia against Vietnam's occupation.
If Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha win the election in July 2013, the new Cambodian Government headed by Sam Rainsy will use the 1991 PPA to rescind all unequal treaties between Hun Sen Government and Vietnam from 1979 to 2005. No matter how sneaky Vietnam is, it will not be able to hide its bad intention any more. The world knows that Vietnam is not a honest nation. Vietnam is a thief who never respects its promise. During Vietnam American war, King Sihanouk of Cambodia helped Vietnam by offering a sanctuary or a hiding place near the border of Cambodia and Vietnam to protect Vietnamese and Vietcong from US bombing. In return Vietnam repays the debt by taking a big chunk of Cambodian territory including Kah Tral.
If Vietnam wants to be a good neighbor of Cambodia, it should have let United Nations take over Cambodia after removing Pol Pot from power in Phnom-Penh.
Vietnam should never have occupied Cambodia for 10 years from 1979 to 1989 and sent 6 millions of Vietnamese illegal immigrants to exploit the natural resource of Cambodia and annexed a few thousand squares kilometers of lands and 30,000. square kilometers of maritime territories including our big island Kah Tral.
Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha will never win anything. Their lunatic ranting about Vietnam swallowing Cambodia just shows how completely out of touch they are with modern Cambodia. They speak just like Pol Pot, and nobody will ever take them seriously except for ignorant and uneducated Cambodians who live abroad and don't even have a vote!
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