Cambodia Elections: U.S. Pressured to Cut Aid If Elections Are Deemed Undemocratic

International Business Times | 4 July 2013

 

Cambodia will once again conduct its democratic elections by the end of July 2013 and there is speculation that current Prime Minister Hun Sen is set to extend his rule which has stretched for almost three decades. When widespread election fraud ensues, the United States will receive more pressure to cut its aid to the Southeast Asian nation.

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While Myanmar has loosened the grip from its once oppressive military government, it seems that Mr Sen's political clout has been growing for the past five years. He could care less about a clean and honest election despite threats of lesser aid from Western donors because of the support that the country gets from China.

To formulate a plan of action to penalize the nation for a manipulated election, members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives have submitted a resolution to cut direct assistance for Cambodia if the U.S. State Department is not satisfied with the transparency of the electoral process. This provision is being advanced in the Senate by Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio who are both part of the appropriations committee.

The United States had reason to speculate of a tainted election after top Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy was deemed ineligible to contend for the Prime Minister position on alleged politically-motivated charges. Likewise, lawmakers from the opposition are also removed from the parliament to prevent alliances that can dethrone Mr Sen.

The U.S. State Department also speculates about the fairness of the country's electoral commission and the production of the rolls that voters will use. Despite these allegations, the government spokesperson of Cambodia did not give a comment. However, a lawmaker from the ruling party said that it is mainly the opposition movement that benefits from the aid that comes from the United States.

Secretary of State John Kerry will have to address this matter and use his long-time association with Mr Sen as leverage. When Mr Kerry was part of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, he encouraged the Cambodian Prime Minister to put former Khmer Rouge leaders to trial for genocide while intensifying commerce between the two countries.

Kerry also persuaded Mr Sen to help the U.S. look for the remains of soldiers who went missing during the Vietnam War. It was also during Kerry's tenure that a Cambodian unit on counterterrorism was trained. But if the Cambodian government does not adhere to the ultimatum and a reduction on U.S. assistance ensues, it is not yet clear where the reduction will be taken from. The aid that America gives to Cambodia is so diverse that it includes health care packages and support for anti-government watch groups particularly on unfair land distribution.

Though the World Bank has suspended Cambodia's lending since 2011, assistance for the country is still flowing from other foreign sources. The biggest sponsor it has is China which has lent around $2.7 billion dollars in the last 20 years. The country has been able to use these grants to build local industry for oil and gas reserves that can bring more prosperity to a country that is still feeling the effects of the Khmer Rouge's oppressive rule during the 1970s.