Cambodian opposition pushes for electoral reforms

Sam Rainsy has been formally accepted as the head of the newly formed Cambodia National Rescue Party Photo: Sam Rainsy is barred from running in the polls due to a string of convictions that the opposition says are politically motivated. (Radio Australia: Sumisha Naidu)

Audio: 'Political problem requires a political solution': Rainsy (ABC News)

Tue May 21, 2013
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia's opposition leader says he is hopeful there will be electoral reforms put in place to allow him to contest elections in July.

About 2,000 people protested in the capital Phnom Penh on Monday, demanding the reform of Cambodia's National Election Committee.

The protesters are calling on the United Nations and the European Union to help ensure the July 28 polls are free and fair.

The march was organised by the recently formed Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), a merge of the former Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party.

Sam Rainsy is the main political challenger to Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Mr Rainsy lives in self-imposed exile in France after being charged with a string of convictions that the opposition says are politically motivated.

He is barred from contesting the election, and his name has been removed from the voters' list.

Mr Rainsy has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia is optimistic there will be electoral reform, and that he will return when all the issues are properly addressed.

"If there is free and fair elections, the leader of the opposition must take part in the election process otherwise any election would be meaningless," he said.

"I think change is needed in the election system - it is not a judicial problem, it is a political problem.

"Any political solution would mean that...my name must be reinstated in the voter list and I must be allowed to vote and stand as a candidate.

"Otherwise Cambodia will be in trouble with political instability and that is a major concern for the future prosperity of the country."

Seeking UN, EU help

Mr Rainsy faces 11 years in jail if he returns to Cambodia, after he was convicted in absentia for charges that included publishing a "false map" of the border with Vietnam.

CNRP members have submitted a petition at the EU delegation asking for the bloc's intervention.

They have also marched to the United Nations rights office where party leaders briefly met with visiting UN envoy Surya Subedi.

"We are seeking their intervention to push for reforms to the National Election Committee to ensure a free and fair election," said Kem Sokha, deputy head of the CNRP.

"We are also demanding that Sam Rainsy be allowed to fight in the election."

Sam Rainsy says Phnom Penh has no option but to put reforms in place.

"Cambodia cannot afford to be isolated and cannot afford to reject the UN recommendations for the the forthcoming elections, otherwise any government arising from illegitimate elections would be considered illegitimate also," he said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ruled the country for more than 27 years.

He has warned that Cambodia risks a return to war if the opposition wins due to Mr Rainsy's vow to prosecute members of the government for their alleged roles in the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror in the late 1970s.