Many Factors Availed CPP Sweep: Monitors
Ruling party officials leveraged a number of advantages, fair and unfair, to win more seats than even they had hoped, election monitors
The ruling Cambodian People's Party did even better than itsown predictions in July's election, and monitors said inrecent interviews it had done so by exploiting the election process and aposition of advantage rather than an outright theft of votes. The CPP dominated the polls in July, winning 90 of 123National Assembly seats, more than enough to enact legislation, quorum andamend the constitution. The opposition Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties haveaccused CPP of stealing votes, but two top monitors said last week that the CPPwas able to earn a high number of seats through myriad factors much morecomplicated. These included loopholes in the election law, the deletionof voter names from registries, the abuse of administrative forms, widespreaduse of state assets and local authorities and the help of broadcast media,according to Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, and Hang Puthea,executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and FairElections in Cambodia. Koul Panha pointed out that the election law didn'tstipulate a budget limit for campaigning, giving the CPP another advantage. "A lot of upper-hand factors" have not beeninvestigated, he said, "such as money and materials, giving out money tovoters, support from local officials who knew which groups of people would votefor what party, messy voter lists and irregularities." "The loopholes in the law and management of theelection did not guarantee a fair election," he added. The CPP also leveraged other advantages, such as awidespread political organization, the construction of infrastructure and apre-election row with Thailandover Preah Vihear temple, both monitors said. Broadcasts on television andradio amplified these factors, they said. "The CPP used the media to propagate its achievementsand attract voters," Koul Panha said. Commune and village chiefs were also a decisive factor this year,Hang Puthea said. These authorities were able to exercise pressure on votersthrough a local ballot count, a new procedure this year that allowed them toidentify opposition supporters, Hang Puthea said. Local officials were able to instill bias by warning votersthat the CPP would need to win in order for a community to have peace and security, hesaid. Though many of the winning factors did not meetinternational standards for a fair and free election, both monitors said, theCPP also had legitimate reasons for winning seats. These included economicachievements of the party, its grassroots political networks, powerfulofficials that solved some crises ahead of the election, and the party'sability to lure supporters away from its rivals. National Election Committee Chairman Im Suosdey denied theCPP had unfair advantages in the election. NEC officials followed election law without giving advantages to the CPP, he said, including in the recruitment of officials, theballot count and throughout the complaints procedure. Critics argue the NEC is dominated by a majority ofCPP-appointed officials, and opposition leader Sam Rainsy said during hearingslast week the Constitutional Council, which arbitrates appealsbeyond the NEC, followed the CPP line as well. "I don't think the election made any party gain theupper-hand over other parties," Im Sousdey said. "You claimed allegedupper-hand factors only after the election results had come out. It is nottrue. The NEC only abides by the law and doesn't want to give anyone the upper-hand." Amendments to the election law will have to be donedemocratically, through legislation passed by the National Assembly, he said,and not through "groundless allegations" made by the losers of an election. SRP lawmaker Son Chhay, however, said a biased NEC colludedwith the ruling party to help it win, by allowing the use of state property andmedia in the election and not enacting a election finance law. "The NEC is not independent," Son Chhay said."It was created to help steal votes for the CPP. There is no neutralinstitution to file complaints with about the theft of votes. Going to the NEC, it isa puppet of the CPP. Going to Constitutional Council, it is the ruling party'spuppet." CPP lawmaker Chiem Yeap, who is also a member of the CPP'scentral committee, said the party had won its 90 seats legitimately. Voters showed their gratitude to a party that liberatedthem from the Khmer Rouge, built peace, rebuilt the nation and itsinfrastructure and reduced poverty, he said. "Let me ask you, where can a vote be stolen?"Chiem Yeap said. "The Sam Rainsy Party had agents who signed the properelectoral process report and party agents of all parties signed this to acceptthe election results." The 90-seat win was a surprise, he said, but signaled atrend that could go on in the next commune elections and beyond. The party waslooking for 84 or 85 seats this year, but it could win as many as 100 seats inthe next general election, he said. "As soon as I heard the NEC announcement of theunofficial result," he said, "tears of emotion came out of myeyes."