The ruling party wants “biased” election watchdogs to be on a tight leash by the next election and wants the opposition to agree to it, senior Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap said yesterday ahead of the third meeting of a bipartisan election reform committee this morning.
Despite mudslinging between the ruling and opposition parties last week that at one point saw Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy pledge to walk away from talks and hold more demonstrations, the CPP has agreed to discuss the opposition’s key demand of National Election Committee reform, Yeap said.
But in return, the ruling party wants election-monitoring NGOs, whose documenting of poll irregularities bolstered the opposition’s rejection of the July election, to come under increased scrutiny via a long-gestating law on NGOs and associations.
On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Bin Chhin, head of the CPP’s negotiating team, replied to a letter from his opposition counterpart, Son Chhay, agreeing that the “reform of electoral institutions” could be added to the election reform framework the committee is tasked with preparing.
He added, however, that the “neutrality and honesty of civil society groups [working on] election” would also have to be on the table.
