Cambodian opposition parties delay their registration for elections due to intimidation

Several Cambodian opposition political parties have not registered to run in the July general election and will wait until the last minute to act because intimidation, threats and attacks have made doing so dangerous, domestic civil society groups said. .

Seven parties, including Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CCP), have already registered and submitted their candidate lists for the July 23 election to elect members of the National Assembly. , which is currently dominated by the CCP.

Political parties can submit lists of candidates to the National Elections Committee from April 24 to May 8.

The main opposition Candlelight Party is having difficulties recruiting candidates due to intimidation and physical attacks against its activists. Some supporters are afraid to publicly campaign for the candidates.

“Activists, especially those in Phnom Penh, were physically attacked,” said Candlelight Party spokesman Kim Sour Phirith. “They are being emotionally threatened. It is not good for our country for a party to discriminate against its opponent.”

He said the party is reviewing candidates and will try to register them with the NEC before the May 8 deadline.

Other parties are also experiencing difficulties recruiting and registering candidates due to political discrimination, Sam said. kunthéamy, Executive Director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, an organization that monitors elections.

Attacks on activists have tarnished Cambodia’s electoral environment, he said.

“I don’t want to see any kind of violence against political activists because right now the parties are preparing to run in the elections,” said Sam Kunttheamy. “Political violence must be avoided.”

recent attacks

Over the weekend, four motorcycle assailants assaulted a Candlelight Party activist as he was traveling to the capital, Phnom Penh, beating him multiple times with a metal baton. Another party activist said his car was intentionally hit by an unknown assailant. Six other members of the opposition party have reported attacks in recent months.

Hang Puthea, a spokesman for the NEC, which oversees voting in the country, told Radio Free Asia that the body is reviewing the applications submitted by the seven political parties and will notify them of their status after May 8.

The NEC has created an app for all parties to register their candidates to avoid duplication and prevent fraud, he said.

So far, more than 40 political parties have been officially recognized by the country’s Ministry of the Interior, which regulates party formation.

Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.