We are members of the CEROC would like to wish all Cambodians regardless inside or outside the country have prosperous and happy new year, especially this New Year, may all Cambodians overseas have rights to vote in Cambodia elections as well as Cambodians inside the country in order to willingly respect Cambodia constitution, international laws, and genuine democracy.
2. How does the CEROC plan to achieve its campaign?
Through participation from all Cambodians and democratic friends around the globe, we are aiming to achieve the common goal: the basic rights of all Cambodians overseas to vote in Cambodia elections which are guaranteed by the Cambodia constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. Our primary campaign is to collect petition from all Cambodians.
3. Why do Khmers Overseas need right to vote? Have their rights been distorted?
Rights to vote is guaranteed by the Cambodian constitution and Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. Beside of the feeling of motherland attachment, the Khmers overseas have helped both soft skills and hard skills in building Cambodia nation. Each year, Khmers overseas have sent in remittance not less than 500 millions US dollar for the economic development. In contrasting of continuing spiritual, moral, and financial supports; rights of Khmers overseas have been deprived in each Cambodia election.
4. What are legal and technical aspects to include Khmers Overseas to vote in Cambodia elections?
While the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) are working to reform the National Election Committee (NEC) through institutionalizing it, we are expecting that they can include Cambodians overseas to vote in Cambodia elections. There are different models and methods that we can learn from different countries around the world to legally and technically allow Khmers overseas to vote. For countries around Cambodia or ASEAN, Thailand has operated both “direct representation voting” and “proportional representation voting” for House of Parliament, and this country has allowed its citizens living abroad to vote at least since 2000 using the method of “in person” and “postal voting”.
5. Are there countries around world helping their people living oversea to vote?
Yes, there are many countries. According to IDEA, the 2007 publication illustrated 115 countries helped the people living oversea to vote. Regardless of North America, Europe and other continents, in Southeast Asian countries, Lao, Thailand, Indonesia, Burma and Philippine etc. have helped their overseas citizens to vote in each national election.
Political Paradigm of Pragmatism from the Khmer Youth part 86
This part (86), Mr. Sophan described some pros and cons of electoral system of USA while this system is better off comparing to the existing system of Cambodia. With its complex election system employing “winner take all”, “electoral college”, and “autonomy of election body in each state” etc. have led to deepening attempt to understand this system.
Researchers and academics agreed on this system as a not-genuine-democratic election. Those have believed in hybrid democracy than pure democracy. The United States is well-known for its leading example of democracy, but their election system doesn’t translate pure democracy. The system has truly accommodated a politics of pragmatism and necessity. Each state has its own electors (representatives) limited in numbers by the federal government (constitution?) although it is not logical as some states have more population but minimal in numbers of electors while other states less population but maximal in numbers of electors. For instance, California comprises of population over 38 million or 38,332,521 residents with 55 electors or we could approximate 696,954 for per elector, while Wyoming has about 582,658 residents with 3 electors or we could approximate only 194,219 for per elector. The “electoral college” and “winner-take-all” don’t help to symbolize a representative of direct voters (citizens) at all. Or academics call it a proportional election system of indirect democracy (sic).
Hence, if we try to compare election system of the United States with Cambodia, we can see many flaws Cambodia election system is not comparable with.
– Independence of Election Committee of the United States is truly independent as their court is independent and just. This independence indicator is puzzling to see how Cambodia National Election Committee is facing pressure while the court is under government’s upper-hand.
– Financial Control Laws on Political Parties of the United States are very rigid. Each presidential candidate can raise funds to boost their campaign as such fundraising activities must comply with the laws. This financial control is imperative to ensure “level playing field” in the United States. This scenario is in contrast in Cambodia in which the government-led party has enjoyed free ride of using money to run their political activities while the opposition party is financed by donation in kind from members and using major personal expenses to cover up the ride.
Political Paradigm of Pragmatism from the Khmer Youth part 85
This part (85), Mr. Sophan articulated on the hot debate of electoral college system of the US by exposing some pros and cons and making a comparison with Cambodia election system.
Courtesy: news.yahoo.com
While the Presidential election is nationwide conducting in the United States, the Electoral College system is not different from party-list or proportional system of Cambodia. As Americans don’t vote for president candidate directly, Cambodians voters don’t vote for Prime Minister directly as well. Hence, each state has their own unique election system but the local representatives are having small riding base/place sizing to that of commune or ward level, not a large provincial level like in Cambodia.
Among those distinctions, the finance laws on political party especially campaigning funds for each presidential candidate has been well coped by the state. This is different from Cambodia that we are not having such mechanism in each election. And the level playing field is not existing in Cambodia.
According to national archive of the United States, Electoral College system enabling solidarity of this vast country and their Founding Father had established it within Constitution several hundreds years ago. Its aim is to ensure a-not-dividable federal United States of America.
25 years has been passed that Cambodians overseas have been deprived full rights to vote in Cambodia elections. UNTAC allowed Cambodians overseas to vote, but after 1998, the new established NEC who were full of incompetency and bias didn’t allow Cambodians overseas to vote. During this season of voters registration, NEC has not facilitated for accessibility of Cambodians overseas to register vote-name.
Is this a grave violation over rights of Cambodians overseas? And Cambodians overseas who are the owner of this right should do what next?
