Rivals Seek Audience With Former King [-Sam Rainsy: "Our country now is sinking like a ship in the ocean"]

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 October 2008

Both Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy plan to visit Cambodia's former king in Beijing separately in coming months.

Hun Sen plans to call on the former king, Norodom Sihanouk, following an Asia-Europe Meeting, scheduled for Oct. 24 in Beijing, prior to Sihanouk's Oct. 31 birthday, when he turns 87.

Sam Rainsy is planning to meet with the former king in late November, "in the name of national reconciliation," the opposition leader said in a letter.

"I will extend well wishes to the king father on his birthday, and then I will go to the ASEM in Beijing," Hun Sen said at a scholarship award ceremony at Phnom Penh's National School of Pedagogy Thursday. "Right now I've told the king father's protocol office to arrange my schedule to meet the king father."

The annual two-day Asia-Europe Meeting brings leaders from 45 Asian and European countries, including Cambodia, together for political, security and economic discussions.

Following Hun Sen's visit, Sam Rainsy is scheduled to pay a call on the former king in Beijing.

"Our country now is sinking like a ship in the ocean," Sam Rainsy wrote the former monarch in French. "Our people are dying like abandoned animals. That's why I myself and for all Cambodian citizens, I would like to assist you in helping the country in the name of national reconciliation."

SRP Deputy Secretary-General Mu Sochua said Thursday the letter to the king reflected Sam Rainsy's worries for the future of the country, following the ruling Cambodian People's Party extension of power after July's elections.

Sam Rainsy will likely discuss alleged irregularities in July's election and "the political situation," she said.

Hun Sen re-elected as PM - SRP & HRP boycotted the vote

Cambodian PM re-elected

Sep 25, 2008
AFP

Cambodia’s parliament re-elected Hun Sen as prime minister, extending his 23-year grip on power, at a session boycotted by parties disputing the results of the July general election.

Only 94 of the 123 elected members of parliament showed up, and unanimously raised their hands to approve the nomination of the parliament’s president and the new government.

Hun Sen promised before the session his government would use its new five-year term to "accelerate development and push for deep and wide reforms" of the southeast Asian nation.

His Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) took 90 seats in the July 27 election, while the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) received 26 seats.

The royalist parties, Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranariddh Party, picked up two seats each, and the Human Rights Party (HRP) three seats.

SRP and HRP lawmakers did not attended today’s session and have claimed widespread irregularities in the July poll.

The opposition leaders could not be immediately reached for comment.

The CPP’s overwhelming majority in parliament means this year is the first time since 1993, the country has not been left in political deadlock after an election.

The previous general election, in July 2003, led to a year of stalemate as parties wrangled over forming a coalition government.

Hun Sen has a reputation for trampling on human rights to secure power, but a booming economy has bolstered his standing in a country still struggling to lift itself from the ranks of the world’s poorest.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: SRP & HRP Boycott

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

French newspaper "Libération" reveals massive election fraud in Cambodia

Excerpts from/translation of an article from Paris-based newspaper Libération , September 12, 2008 .
Full original article in French at http://tinyurl.com/6nnrcm

Cambodian legislative election was a big mess, Anything but a real election
[Original title in French: Le "grand n'importe quoi" des législatives cambodgiennes]

Vote tallies show in detail the extent of fraud in a poll that gave a landslide victory to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

Reading vote tallies related to Cambodia 's July 27 legislative elections is breathtaking (…).

Grotesque. In a vote tally seen by Libération , one can notice, for instance, that there were 115 ballots cast at a polling station in the constituency of Prey Veng (in the south-eastern part of the country). But there is a little arithmetical problem: the document specifies that the CPP alone obtained 224 votes, versus 82 for the HRP and 72 for the SRP, which are the main opposition parties (Document # 1).

[All the documents, with English translation, mentioned in this article can be read by clicking at http://tinyurl.com/6pzfc5]

In even more grotesque proportions, the mistake repeats itself in the constituency of Kampong Speu (a province south-west of Phnom Penh ): a vote tally sheet shows a total of 526 ballots cast. But, before reaching this total, it is written that the CPP has grabbed as many as 1,139 votes (Document # 2).

Other vote tallies show how many votes each party has collected but without indicating the total number of valid votes cast at the corresponding polling stations (Document # 3), or they do not specify the number of registered voters at a specific polling station (Document # 4).

[Sometimes, even worse, there are no indications whatsoever for both the total number of votes actually cast and the number of registered voters at a specific polling station (Document # 5)].

Another frequent irregularity: a voter register lists twice [or even three times] the same name (Document # 6). Sometimes [in the same voter list for a given village or polling station], four voters are registered twice (Documents # 7 and # 8), etc.

[The CPP used names of ghost voters and names of persons who are registered more than once, to issue forged voter identification documents to illegitimate voters to inflate the CPP votes. See reports on "1018 Forms" at http://tinyurl.com/5eo33w and http://tinyurl.com/57vdu8].

[All the documents from # 1 to # 8, with English translation, mentioned in this article can be read by clicking at http://tinyurl.com/6pzfc5]

Opposition Dismisses Ruling Party 'Threats'

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
16 September 2008

Opposition leaders dismissed threats made by Prime Minister Hun Sen Monday to withhold salaries and National Assembly committee seats if 29 lawmakers boycott the new government's swearing-in ceremony later this month.

Hun Sen told reporters Monday that opposition lawmakers who fail to swear in on Sept. 24 will be denied their salaries and lose their positions on the National Assembly's nine committees.

Those positions will be given to Cambodian People's Party lawmakers, he said.

"I told [CPP Secretary-General] Say Chum if the opposition parties don't join the swearing-in ceremony, we cannot wait for the participation from the opposition," Hun Sen said. "I asked Say Chum to choose nine members for each committee from the CPP. When the opposition does not swear in, it will have no validity, so [lawmakers] cannot get their salary."

Opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha said Tuesday they will not abandon their boycott stance.

"We aren't afraid of losing our positions and our salaries," Sam Rainsy said. "But we are afraid of losing justice, democracy and the will of the people, as well as the interest of the nation and the people."

In the previous National Assembly, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party held two chairs of National Assembly committees, Foreign Affairs, held by Son Chhay, and Defense, Interior and Inspection, held by Yim Sovann.

In the upcoming National Assembly, the CPP will hold all nine chairmanships, CPP lawmaker Cheam Yiep has said.

Kem Sokha, president of the Human Rights Party, which won three seats in July's election, said his lawmakers-elect were not afraid of "threats by the prime minister."

"The salaries and the positions do not belong to the prime minister, so Hun Sen cannot decide about this," he said. "The people have voted for us to get the posts and the salary from people's taxes."

Mu Sochua: "We [will still] boycott and we are not concerned about the threat"

SRP will lose legislative seats: PM

Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Written by Cheang Sokha and Vong Sokheng The Phnom Penh Post

Hun Sen warns opposition not to boycott swearing-in of parliament

PRIME Minister Hun Sen issued a stern warning to opposition parties Monday, saying that if they go ahead with a planned boycott of the swearing-in of the National Assembly their salaries will be cut off and they will lose their positions in the legislative body.

"If they ignore the swearing in, then they will not get paid," Hun Sen told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.

"In Cambodia the winning party cannot be held hostage by the losing party. If they join the swearing-in or not it is up to them, but the ruling party will go ahead."

Hun Sen said he was unsure why the opposition had decided not to recognise the results of the July 27 polls and emphasised that he did not want them to throw their parliamentary seats away. He added that his Cambodian People's Party is actively seeking replacement candidates to take the opposition's slots in the Assembly's nine commissions.

"They cannot order the King to [hold a separate ceremony for them ... the National Assembly has never been sworn in twice," Hun Sen said.

Sam Rainsy Party Deputy Secretary General Mu Sochua said the opposition was not concerned by Hun Sen's warning.

"We [will still] boycott and we are not concerned about the threat," Mu Sochua told the Post.

"If the CPP's aim is to take our seats then, please, take control of 116 of the total 123 seats in the National Assembly [and] it will be the CPP's National Assembly," she said, referring to the number of seats the CPP would hold if it confiscated the SRP's 26.

On Friday, Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers wrote to King Norodom Sihamoni requesting a separate swearing- in ceremony.

The opposition will boycott the first National Assembly session

Page 1 of SRP letter to King Sihamoni (click to zoom in)

Page 2 of SRP letter to King Sihamoni (click to zoom in)

Page 3 of SRP letter to King Sihamoni (click to zoom in)

Reply letter from King Sihamoni (click to zoom in)

15 Sept 2008
By Ky Soklim
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the original article in French

In a letter sent on 12 September to King Norodom Sihamoni, the 26 elected SRP MPs have clearly indicated their position regarding the 24 September Parliament session: they will not participate in it.

Through this action, the elected opposition MPs want to renew their protest against the election results. “Our decision was taken in the name of million of voters who casted their ballots for us, and in the name of Cambodian people whose rights were denied by the election rigging. Today again, no institution provided justice for us,” the SRP MPs wrote in this letter. The also asked the king the authorization to swear-in separately.

On the same day, short of a detailed reply back, King Sihamoni informed that he indeed received this letter.

Returning Leaders Maintain Boycott Stance

(Photo: Pring Samrang, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 September 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha returned from a trip to France and Brussels this week, vowing to uphold their boycott of the new government but finding no support for their calls that a new vote be held.

"We will not join the swearing-in ceremony with the vote fraudsters," said Sam Rainsy, whose self-named party won 26 of 123 National Assembly seats in the election.

However, no country that either leader visited went as far as saying July's national election was not free and fair, and there was little support for their calls for a revote, both men said Monday.

"The French government and the EU will push the Cambodian government to correct the wrongdoings of this election," Sam Rainsy said. "Cambodia cannot walk out of the democratic way, especially the promotion of a power balance in the country's leadership."

Officials of the French government and the European Commission, which is based in Brussels, also promised to discuss with the new government reforms to the National Election Committee, said Kem Sokha, head of the Human Rights Party.

He too said his party would uphold the boycott. "But we aren't giving up our seats."

CPP officials maintain that a boycott of the swearing-in ceremony for new National Assembly leaders, scheduled for Sept. 24, will lead to the redistribution of opposition seats among other parties.

HRP president adamant the party will boycott NA

Opposition leader Kem Sokha at a press conference Sunday following his return from Europe. (Tracey Shelton)

Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Written by Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

Kem Sokha tells reporters the international community is hoping opposition parties get greater government role

HUMAN Rights Party President Kem Sokha reaffirmed his intention to boycott the National Assembly meeting scheduled for September 24, telling reporters Sunday that his recent meetings with European officials reinforced the need to resolve alleged election irregularities in the July polls.

Kem Sokha was joined on his trip by opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

"Our trip was very important for showing the necessity of fair elections and to prove that the problems we face are not small," he said.

He said the trip included meetings with France's secretary of state for foreign affairs as well as several French parliamentarians.

He also spoke with European Union parliamentarians in Brussels, Belgium, and with officials at the European Commission.

"They told us they would like to see more opposition parties in positions of authority in Cambodia," he said. "Without a greater balance of power, a true democratic process will be impossible."

Kem Sokha reiterated the party's intention to boycott the National Assembly meeting but said the HRP would follow the guidance of the King.

"We want the King to give us a separate time to be sworn in," he said. "If not, then we will boycott."

Cambodian People's Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Sunday the king will convene the National Assembly as planned.

"We have 90 seats, Funcinpec has two and Norodom Ranariddh has two," he said.

"So we can convene the meeting whether the opposition parties join or not."

He said that even though Cambodian law requires at least 120 parliamentarians in attendance for the National Assembly to convene, it will take place even without the opposition parties if the King convenes it.

Cheam Yeap dismissed the comments by Kem Sokha by saying foreign officials could not know the details of Cambodia's elections and should not listen to only one side.

To boycott or not... that is the question

Friday, 12 September 2008
Written by Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

A FORMERLY united opposition now appears split on whether to boycott this month's swearing in of the new National Assembly, with some politicians saying they will abandon their plans for a walkout if the King does not agree to a separate inauguration.

King Norodom Sihamoni has sent letters to the 123 parliamentarians-elect inviting them to the September 24 swearing in. But the Sam Rainsy Party, which is disputing the poll results, is standing by its request that the King hold a special ceremony for its lawmakers the following day.

"We cannot attend the swearing-in ceremony with CPP parliamentarians because they won many seats due to electoral irregularities. I believe the Human Rights Party (HRP) will also not join in the meeting," said SRP Deputy Secretary General Mu Sochua.

But HRP Secretary General Yem Ponhearith said that if the King denied their request for a change of day, the party would follow his decision.

Koul Panha, executive director of the election monitor Comfrel, said the opposition request was unsuitable.

NA's Legitimacy Contingent On Opposition's Participation

Monday, September 08, 2008
Opinion by Sam Rainsy
Letter sent to The Cambodia Daily

Related to the story "Opposition Asks King for Separate Swearing-In" (Sept 4, page 29), I wish to specify that the reasons for our demand are twofold:

1. The 29 National Assembly members-elect from the opposition have legitimately won their parliamentary seats without a shadow of a doubt. The same cannot be said for the 90 members-elect from the ruling CPP given the number and the seriousness of election irregularities that have not been properly addressed. Taking part in a swearing-in ceremony with them would mean that we would recognize their legitimate presence in the new Assembly, whereas we have serious arguments to prove that a number of them have actually stolen seats from us. Our arguments are exposed on our Web site, http://tinyurl.com/4eegak, which is updated on a daily basis.
2. Opposition parliamentarians-elect will be sworn in and will become full-fledged Assembly members only after the first "plenary" session of the CPP-dominated Assembly has been held Sept 24 or 25. We want the ruling party to bear the full responsibility of its decision to ignore the opposition's electoral grievances and Assembly-related demands.

Everybody realizes that the new Assembly cannot validly convene without participation from the opposition. Article 76 of the Constitution states, "The National Assembly consists of al least 120 members."

At its first meeting after any legislative election, the Assembly has to first proclaim the validity of ail its members' mandate. Therefore, with only 94 sworn in members (CPP + Funcinpec + NRP) present at its first meeting on Sept 24 or 25, while 29 other members-elect (SRP+HRP) will have yet to be sworn in, the Assembly on that day will hold an illegitimate session and will not have the power to make any valid decisions, including the decision to proclaim the validity of ail its members. Because the Constitution is the country’s supreme law, no provisions from any other laws can supercede the above Article 76.

What's more, the CPP also intends, at that very first Assembly meeting, to proceed with the simultaneous election of the Assembly speaker and the prime minister through a single ballot called a "package vote." The tact that the legislative and executive branches of the government will have their respective leaderships elected at the same time, through the same single vote, clearly proves that there is no separation of powers and no system of checks and balances, which is the very essence of a functioning democracy.

The opposition does not want to legitimize Cambodia's crumbling façade of democracy or to appear in an irresponsible and ludicrous show that may lead to a dangerous political crisis.

Sam Rainsy,
SRP President

Special meeting with Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha in Paris of Sunday 07 September 2008

INVITATION A LA REUNION SPECIALE D'INFORMATION A PARIS
Thème LES ELECTIONS LEGISLATIVES DU 27 JUILLET 2008 ET LES FRAUDES ELECTORALES AU CAMBODGE

Présidée par:
S.E. SAM RAINSY, Président du PSR
&
S.E. KEM SOKHA, Président du PDH

Dimanche 7 septembre 2008 de 14h00 à 18h00

Salle de Conférence de Patronage Laïque du XVè
72 avenue Félix Faure 75015 Paris

Métro Boucicaut ou Lourmel ( ligne 8)
Bus 62 ou Tram – Station Balard

Veuillez informer vos amis et proches pour qu'ils prennent connaissance de cette invitation et venir nombreux. Le Comité d'organisateurs vous remercie d'avance de votre présence.

Pour information:

PDH-France : 06 09 38 46 16 - 06 21 13 17 01 - 06 03 50 46 56
PSR-France : 06 13 06 77 00 - 06 19 31 42 98 - 06 22 25 26 55
---------

Invitation to a Special Information Meeting in Paris
Topic: The 27 July 2008 General Election and the Election Frauds in Cambodia

Presided by:
Sam Rainsy, SRP President
&
Kem Sokha, HRP President

Sunday 07 September 2008 between 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Salle de Conférence de Patronage Laïque du XVè
72 avenue Félix Faure 75015 Paris

Métro Boucicaut ou Lourmel ( ligne 8)
Bus 62 ou Tram – Station Balard

Please inform your family and friends about this invitation and come to join us in large number. The organizing Committee thanks you.

For information:

PDH-France : 06 09 38 46 16 - 06 21 13 17 01 - 06 03 50 46 56
PSR-France : 06 13 06 77 00 - 06 19 31 42 98 - 06 22 25 26 55

The SRP elected representatives want to take oath separately

05-09-2008
By Leang Delux
Cambodge Soir Hebdo (now in English)

Sam Rainsy informed the King of his choice. In case of refusal he claims to be ready to go to the Royal Palace.

On the 2nd of September, the day before travelling to Europe, Sam Rainsy sent a letter to Norodom Sihamoni. In this correspondence the opposition leader informs the monarch that, on the 24th of September, his 26 delegates will refuse to take oath at the same time as the CPP elected representatives.

A decision which aims at disputing “the violation of the people’s rights to vote”, as well as the numerous “election frauds”.

The SRP elected representatives thus want to take oath on the day after the parliamentary opening session. In case the King refuses, “we’ll go to a sacred place in front of the Royal Palace”, said the SRP leader.

SRP: No Honest Person Or Institution Is Stupid Enough To Recognize The Results Of A Sham Election

September 2, 2008
Source: SRP

NO HONEST PERSON OR INSTITUTION IS STUPID ENOUGH
TO RECOGNIZE THE RESULTS OF A SHAM ELECTION

Today the CPP-controlled National Election Committee (NEC) proclaimed the "official results" of the July 27, 2008 national election that was manipulated on an unprecedented scale by Cambodia's ruling party. But no honest person or institution is stupid enough to overlook the massive election fraud and to recognize the results of a sham election.

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM - Cambodia) in its July 29 statement points that "2008 National Assembly Elections have fallen short of a number of key international standards for democratic elections."

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) has been collecting worrying evidence of election fraud since Voting Day and every day brings more proof of electoral fraud of national scale.

Even though, compared to previous elections, fraud in 2008 took on a more sophisticated and more subtle form, serious long-term observers were able to detect it, especially fraud related to manipulation of voter lists which took place before Voting Day and outside the polling stations.

We have been gathering an ever increasing amount of evidence of such manipulation of voter lists, which we have published on our website http://tinyurl.com/4eegak. The evidence presented is largely what inexperienced short-term observers could not see in a sophistically rigged election (See our July 29 statement: "What [naive and lazy] election observers did not see in a rigged election").

Our Web site http://tinyurl.com/4eegak is updated on a daily basis and provides more and more irrefutable evidence that the July 27, 2008 was really a sham election.

The countless and various irregularities exposed on our Web site http://tinyurl.com/4eegak do not reflect isolated and fortuitous incidents but show the general pattern of a massive and systematic election fraud, which led today to "official election results" that seriously distort the will of the Cambodian people.

SRP Members of Parliament

For more information please call 012 858 857 or 012 831 040

Parties Warn World of 'Death' of Democracy

Kem Sokha, Sam Rainsy and Mu Sochua (Photo: Ung Chamroeun, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 August 2008

Two opposition leaders said Friday they would continue to push the international community to support their denial of July's election results, following a series of hearings this week that dismissed their complaints of fraud and calls for a re-vote.

The Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties maintain the election results were fraudulent and have called for a nationwide re-vote, citing a number of irregularities during the run-up to the election and on the day of the polls.

The parties are now seeking international lawyers to complain of irregularities to the US government, the EU and the UN, and to call on them "to review their relationship with the fourth mandate of the Phnom Penh government," opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Friday. "The Phnom Penh government has come from an illegal National Assembly, which came from unfair elections."

Kem Sokha, president of the Human Rights Party, said a failure of the international community to intervene would lead to "the death of the democratic process in Cambodia."

Both the National Election Committee and the Constitutional Council maintain that the elections were legitimate, with the ruling Cambodian People's Party claiming to have won 90 or 123 National Assembly seats.

According to the NEC, the Sam Rainsy Party won 26 seats and the Human Rights Party won three.

CPP, Funcinpec and Norodom Ranariddh Party officials say they will go ahead with a swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected National Assembly on Sept. 24, but both opposition leaders said Friday their representatives would boycott the ceremony.

A boycott of the ceremony could lead to a further delay in the formation of a new government.

Cambodian opposition parties take election grievances overseas

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and the Human Rights Party (HRP), which are two opposition parties of Cambodia, have written to the leaders of 18 nations who signed the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, complaining of alleged irregularities in the July 27 general election, local media reported Friday.

Signed by SRP President Sam Rainsy and HRP President Kem Sokha, the letters expressed the opposition parties wish to bring to signatories' attention the extent to which political developments in Cambodia have departed dangerously from the path laid out in the Paris Agreement, the Cambodia Daily newspaper said.

According to a copy of the letter, the two parties reiterate their complaints of "systematic and massive electoral fraud."

They also accuse the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the National Election Committee (NEC) of deleting "hundreds of thousands" of pro-opposition voters from the election list.

Meanwhile, CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap told the newspaper that he was not surprised by the opposition's letter-writing campaign but also believed that it would do them little good because other countries, a number of whom monitored the election, are confident the poll went smoothly enough.

Failure in The Election Complaint Resolution Process Says A Lot About The Whole Election Process

August 28, 2008
Source: SRP and HRP

FAILURE IN THE ELECTION COMPLAINT RESOLUTION PROCESS
SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE WHOLE ELECTION PROCESS

The way electoral complaints are handled or mishandled is an integral part of the election process that international observers are supposed to monitor. There was only one international observer left today in Cambodia. He was from the European Union Election Observation Mission.

Today was the final day of the complaint resolution process following Voting Day of July 27. None of the opposition's numerous complaints has been properly dealt with. Over the last four weeks following Voting Day, both the National Election Committee (NEC) and the Constitutional Council (CC) have dismissed all the opposition's requests for re-vote or vote recount in spite of irrefutable evidence of massive fraud. http://tinyurl.com/4eegak

This failure in the election complaint resolution process says a lot about the whole election process…

The following is an excerpt from letters that the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party have just written to signatories of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia.

The letter to France's President of the Republic is in French http://tinyurl.com/56b3xl

The letter to Indonesia's President of the Republic is in English http://tinyurl.com/6ka6x4

France and Indonesia were co-chairs of the Paris International Conference on Cambodia which led to the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements on October 23, 1991.

"An acceptable resolution of a number of our electoral complaints should be through the holding of a re-vote or, at least, a vote recount in a limited number of constituencies (provinces or municipalities) where the opposition has come very close to winning one additional parliamentary seat according to figures provided by the NEC. However, the NEC, which is both judge and judged, has rejected practically all our complaints. Even the most important ones were only "examined" behind closed doors and very quickly dismissed as "groundless". As of today, the NEC has not allowed a single vote recount, let alone a re-vote, even when first reports of ballot counting from a given polling station conflict with each other and some of these reports seem to have been doctored. When the opposition submits a complaint with some evidence raising some doubt, why doesn't the NEC accept to jointly with the plaintiffs recount the ballots from any given ballot box from any given polling station so as to dissipate any doubt? Are they afraid that a vote recount even for a single ballot box from a single polling station – there are 15, 254 polling stations nationwide – could reveal anomalies/irregularities that are indicative of broader fraud commune-wide, province-wide and nationwide? The Constitutional Council, which is another CPP-controlled institution acting as a kind of Supreme Court, has so far upheld all the NEC's decisions to dismiss the opposition's complaints and requests. There is apparently no other reasons for the two institutions for not allowing any vote recount than the fear to see the CPP's "landslide victory" evaporate following proper verifications."

SAM RAINSY PARTY
HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY

Party's Double-Voter Complaint Rejected [-What else to expect from the CPP-controlled Prostitutional Council?]

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 August 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

The Constitutional Council on Thursday upheld the denial of a complaint by the Human Rights Party over alleged voting-list irregularities throughout Cambodia in July's election.

The Human Rights Party had claimed in its complaint to the National Election Committee that 15,255 polling stations were found with registries containing voter names twice.

The double names could have led to ineligible voting, the party said in its complaint.

The NEC rejected the complaint, and that decision was maintained by the Council.

Thursday's hearing was the final decision of the Constitutional Council over election complaints that were filed by the Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties.

Nhiek Vannara, deputy secretary-general of the Human Rights Party and the legal representative in the case, told reporters Thursday the Council's decision was "very unjust for the Cambodian voters and the Human Rights Party."

"We cannot accept the result of the decision," he said. "But we have no place to continue to complain. We are very, very sorry for the Constitutional Council members, in this unjust decision, but we hope that we will stand up for justice for the next election."

Nhiek Vannara called the decision "artificial."

He told the hearing the double names could have led to an estimated 1 million voting irregularities.

NEC legal representative Em Sophath said during the hearing the denial of the HRP complaint was "very legal and fair."

"The Human Rights Party complaint did not have enough evidence to support [it]," Em Sophath said.

Council Rejects Opposition Call for Re-Vote

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
27 August 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

The Constitutional Council on Wednesday upheld a National Election Committee rejection of an opposition party demand for a new round of voting.

The Sam Rainsy Party had requested another vote, claiming July's election had been illegitimate. The NEC rejected the claim earlier this month, on grounds that the irregularities reported were not supported by evidence.

The Sam Rainsy Party claims that the use of administrative form 1018 in lieu of identification, the omission of voters' names from registries, and other irregularities should be grounds for another election.

The Council hearing Wednesday was the last chance for an appeal, and the last hearing over Sam Rainsy Party election complaints.

The Council will examine complaints from the Human Rights Party Thursday.

Opposition demands re-vote in provinces

Human Rights Party leader Kem Sokha (left) and Sam Rainsy Party’s Mu Sochua speak to reporters on Monday. (Photo: HENG CHIVOAN)
Sam Rainsy speaks to reporters at a press conference in Phnom Penh on Monday. (Photo: HENG CHIVOAN)

Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Written by Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Opposition parties continue attack on NEC over vote tallies

Sam Rainsy Party leader claims new proof of massive voter fraud by the NEC in three provinces and calls for a re-vote

OPPOSITION leader Sam Rainsy hurled a slew of fresh charges Monday at the Kingdom's National Election Committee, claiming that it had falsified vote tallies from polling stations in three provinces at the behest of the Cambodian People's Party and demanded a revote.

"Our election observers found that 11-04 forms from 119 polling stations had been changed," Sam Rainsy said at a press conference.

"The NEC has accused us of making these changes, but we would have no reason to do this."

The 11-04 forms are used to note the total number of votes received by each party at a particular polling station. They are NEC documents and are taken by NEC officials from individual polling stations to their central headquarters.

Sam Rainsy said his complaints focus on irregularities at polling stations in Svay Rieng province, but that observers found major discrepancies in Kampot and Pursat provinces as well, adding that a re-vote in these provinces should be held.

The CPP’s 90 seats do not belong to them. Some of them belong to us.

"We should have opened the ballot boxes and recounted the votes," he said, adding that he had asked for recounts on 16 boxes but was refused.

"I believe that if we had asked for only one box to be recounted, our request would still have been refused because even one case would show that the vote tallies had been changed."

Kem Sokha, president of Human Rights Party, which has aligned itself to the SRP in the aftermath of the polls, said it would be meaningless for both parties to join the National Assembly when it convenes in September to announce the new government. He argued that the Assembly does not represent the people or the nation, but belongs to the CPP and is a pawn of the Vietnamese government.

"It would not be right for us to sit in parliament," Kem Sokha said. "The CPP's 90 seats do not belong to them. Some of them belong to us."

Khieu Kanharith, CPP spokesman and information minister, could not be reached for comment Monday.

NEC Secretary General Tep Nytha said Monday the SRP documents were handwritten and prove nothing, while the voter tally forms submitted to the NEC show no irregularities. He added that any changes to the documents would have been done by the opposition.

"If [Sam Rainsy] has clear evidence of irregularities, a revote could take place," he said. "If he does not, that should be the end of the matter."