When opposition leader Sam Rainsy last year turned his back on a promise to return to Cambodia and face a prison sentence dropped on him while he was overseas, he cited the potential for the government to use any subsequent protests or violence to derail election reforms.
“The ruling party wants to delay the election process, and to delay the election process, there must be incidents and escalating violence, which would give them the pretext they need to dismantle the CNRP, or to delay the election process,” Mr. Rainsy said at the time.
—News Analysis—
Men check voter lists during the 2012 commune elections. (Lauren Crothers)
He decided to flee to Paris rather than rocking the boat, banking on the idea that the CNRP would win the next national election in 2018 as long as the voter list was cleaned of the potential for voter fraud.
But there is more than one way to delay the election process. And while Mr. Rainsy’s decision not to return might have helped avoid an outbreak of political violence, the CNRP has found itself hamstrung by creeping delays in the implementation of electoral reforms it has pinned its hopes on.
The projected start of voter registration has been pushed back from March to May to July to August—and now perhaps September. Civil society groups this week expressed concerns about the National Election Committee’s repeated delays in its plans to build a clean voter list from scratch before the 2017 commune elections.
Sophal Ear, an associate professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles and the author of “Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy,” said it appeared that the CPP was purposely trying to slow down reform.
“When it’s this many delays, and the answers don’t add-up, you betcha. Drag your feet until the changes that would benefit your opponent are practically impossible, run down that clock!” Mr. Ear said in an email.
Until the NEC finally removes all the double and missing names from the voter list by re-registering all 10 million eligible voters, the opposition party will remain in perpetual fear of giving the CPP pretext to derail its coveted reforms, he said.
“The CNRP is in a poor position not just until the new voter list is completed, but until they actually are allowed to win,” Mr. Ear wrote. “I hate to quote Stalin, but he did say ‘Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.’”
Thanks to painstaking negotiations between the CPP and CNRP in the aftermath of the contested 2013 elections, those who count the votes now include members of both parties. However, the NEC’s chairman, Sik Bunhok, is a former CPP lawmaker, and its controversial secretary-general, CPP stalwart Tep Nytha, was recently brought back for another term of service.
And with the 2017 commune elections looming, Mr. Rainsy said in an email on Thursday that he believed Prime Minister Hun Sen was purposely trying to slow down the electoral reform process and derail voter registration “because he would definitely lose any free and fair election.”
Commission for Election Rights of Overseas Cambodians (The CEROC),
This part (56), Mr. Sophan Seng continued to elaborate on The CEROC, or Commission for Election Rights of Overseas Cambodians, an advocate body for the full fledgling participation in political affairs by the Cambodians overseas.
1. Cambodians overseas have no matter with Cambodia politics in general, but Cambodia as a nation has matters with them as those Cambodians overseas has sent millions of dollar a year to help develop economy of this nation. This doesn’t include the feeling of attachment and pride they have always conveyed for Cambodia. And those Cambodians overseas have brought Cambodia to the international arena more than the current effort of Cambodian government to contribute through their embassies.
2. Cambodian government leadership must be responsive to comply by the Cambodia Constitution and the charter of rights of the United Nations. Article 34 of Cambodia Constitution and Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations have solemnly confirmed the unalienable rights of Cambodians overseas to vote in Cambodia elections.
This part (55), Mr. Sophan Seng articulated on the CEROC or Committee for Election Rights of Overseas Cambodians on recent news of Prime Minister Hun Sen and H.E. Sam Rainsy regarding Cambodians overseas absentee voting.
PM Hun Sen used the excuse of not allowing Cambodians overseas to vote in Cambodia elections because of election system in Cambodia is proportional representation which is different from USA, and he continued to comment on different time such daytime in Cambodia is nighttime in America. With this matter, Mr. Sophan described that it is just a small piece of technical issues that they are not complicate to resolve. Thailand has operated proportional representation, and their overseas voters casted ballots to vote with no problem at all. Thailand has no problem of allocating them, or jurisdiction, or residency at all when overseas citizens registered to vote. To avoid conflicting time of night and day, and especially to avoid pressure on voter, they have arranged “advance vote” by giving more time to both domestic voters and overseas absentee voters to caste their ballots.
Regarding letter to the Phnom Penh Post by H.E. Sam Rainsy, Mr. Sophan described that it depends on how the election committee agrees to solve such technical issue. It is not beyond the ability and capacity to solve the issues whenever Cambodian overseas absentee ballots and voting are counted and facilitated.
Summary of Meeting Results between Mr. Sophan Seng & Mr. Pannha Koul
On February 27, 2016 at 3:00pm Mr. Sophan Seng who is the President of the CEROC had a good chance to meet with Mr. Pannha Koul who is the Executive Director of Comfrel or Committee for Free and Fair Election of Cambodia at the headquarter in Toul Kouk, Phnom Penh. The meeting discussions are summarized following:
Mr. Sophan Seng has closely anticipated the effort of Comfrel to ensuring free and fair election of Cambodia by relating it to the engaging of Cambodians overseas to vote in Cambodia elections. Mr. Sophan described the campaign effort of the CEROC to exercising the rights of Cambodians overseas to vote in Cambodia elections. Among those activities, the CEROC has collected petition to submit to UNs, political parties, and civil societies including Comfrel. Further more, effort of the CEROC encourages Cambodian people to increasingly participate in election in Cambodia. As a response, Mr. Pannha Koul frankly welcomed the demand of Cambodians overseas and this is a duty and obligation to develop democracy, political inclusiveness, and political participation of Cambodia.
Mr. Pannha Koul raised the 3 issues in which he thinks could be a barrier for overseas absentee voting: – Budget to organize election abroad, – Confidence of this demand to successfully achieve it, and – Security of the ballots transferring by giving example an election in Burma in 2010 as the lost becoming winner after counting the overseas ballots. Responding to these concerns, Mr. Sophan picked up an example in Canada when Cambodian diasporic gathering was impressed by the news that government of Cambodia doesn’t have budget to organize election for Cambodian abroad, and those people raised their hands to help chip in money to sponsor air-tickets and place to stay for members of the election committee who come to organize election for them to vote. So, this is clear that they are having confidence in it. Mr. Sophan Seng commented further from his experience as Deputy Returning Officer of Elections Canada in giving sufficient time for Canada abroad to vote, inside the country, they arranged advance voting day of 4 days ie Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday in one week before actual election day for Canadian voters.
Both, Mr. Sophan Seng and Mr. Pannha Koul were satisfying with the discussion and continue to closely incorporate until the time that Cambodians overseas can utilize their wills and exercise full rights to vote in Cambodia elections. Mr. Pannha is delightful to invite Mr. Sophan as a speaker or to joining with other meetings through Skype and encourage for frequent communications via email, social network and other modern technological mediums.
Pertinent topic of #Politikoffee this week: “Rights to Vote of Cambodians Overseas”
Our honor to welcome Mr. Sophoan Seng as our speaker. Mr. Sophan is the:
– Leader of Commission for Elections Rights of Overseas Cambodians (CEROC)
– Deputy Returning Officer for Elections Canada 2014-2015, Calgary Forest Lawn Electoral District
-Founder of Cambodian Leadership Skills
– Graduate of University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA, (MA, PhD Candidate)
