Angkor.com - Election 2003

ELECTION JULY 2003
(Election February 2002 news)

Coercion, threats and intimidation in the National Assembly elections - Phnom Penh Post, July 18 - 31, 2003

Gordon Sharpless' commentary on the elections

P. Penh pulls out all stops on final day of campaigning - Bangkok Post, July 26, 2003

Sam Rainsy Party - as far as we can tell the SRP is the only party with much current news on its website about the campaign, including an article on threatening SMS messages they have received...
Cambodia National Sustaining Party - smaller party has extensive explanations of why they are boycotting the elections

Survivors of the `killing fields' vote tomorrow ANALYSIS / CAMBODIA - Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to win. But who will come second? Observers say Sam Rainsy is the person to watch - Bangkok Post, July 26, 2003

Three-horse race in Cambodia poll - The Nation, June 30, 2003

Cambodian voters in for long holiday - The Nation, July 12, 2003
Cambodia must be the world's most generous nation in providing so many days off for prospective voters to do their democratic duty - including borrowing money in advance. The Ministry of Social Affairs has issued instructions to enable employees to vote on July 27, mandating employers to give their workers a break for voting. The number of days off will vary according to location:
- Employees working and voting in the same city must have a day off.
- Employees working in Phnom Penh and voting in 11 nearby provinces must have three days off (July 26 to 28).
- Employees working in Phnom Penh and voting in more remote provinces are entitled to four days off (July 25 to 28).
The announcement also states that employers must set aside wages or bonuses for all the employees during the voting period. They are also encouraged to pay salaries before Election Day, or at least let workers borrow from their salaries in advance.

Three-horse race in Cambodia poll - The Nation, June 30, 2003

Cambodian voters in for long holiday - The Nation, July 12, 2003
Cambodia must be the world's most generous nation in providing so many days off for prospective voters to do their democratic duty - including borrowing money in advance. The Ministry of Social Affairs has issued instructions to enable employees to vote on July 27, mandating employers to give their workers a break for voting. The number of days off will vary according to location:
- Employees working and voting in the same city must have a day off.
- Employees working in Phnom Penh and voting in 11 nearby provinces must have three days off (July 26 to 28).
- Employees working in Phnom Penh and voting in more remote provinces are entitled to four days off (July 25 to 28).
The announcement also states that employers must set aside wages or bonuses for all the employees during the voting period. They are also encouraged to pay salaries before Election Day, or at least let workers borrow from their salaries in advance.

Top candidates for the three main parties - KhmerIntelligence.org, May 19, 2003

From the National Election Committee - June 11, 2003

Questions and Answers - issue #14

Q 1. What is the objective of the National Electoral campaign?
A. Pursuant to the electoral Law, the objective of the electoral campaign is to allow political parties and candidates to convey their political platforms to voters.

Q 2. What is the period of the national electoral campaign?
A. The electoral campaign starts thirty one (31) days before the polling day.
The process of the electoral campaign will last for a period of thirty (30) days, which starts from June 26 until July 25, 2003 and all activities of the electoral campaign end 24 hours before polling day.

Q 3. What activities of the electoral campaign are restricted 24 hours before polling day and on polling day?
A. Activities of the electoral campaign that are restricted 24 hours before polling day and on polling day are as follows:
- Public meetings of political parties and candidates;
- Any rally or march or procession either by foot or means of transport of all kinds or house by house propaganda to support a political party and/or its policy or an expression of opinion in order to garner voters;
- Dissemination on radio or television channels or newspapers to support or criticize any candidate or any political party’s policy or platform;
- Dissemination through airwaves or shouting of short slogans through loud speakers or tape recorders, which enable voters to hear political messages;
- Dissemination through displaying videotapes in public theaters or public parks.
- Posting of propaganda posters at public places;
- Distribution of party’s leaflets, money or valuable gifts to convince voters to vote for his/ her political party;
- Distribution of caps, clothes, T-shirts or other printed materials to support any political party and/ or candidate;
- Putting up of banners at any public place and notice boards in order to post a political platform;
- Orchestration of concerts in the form of a procession or at any particular place or singing propaganda songs or orchestrating election propaganda related music in order to make publicity to support any candidate or political party or to criticize a political party’s policy or platform.

Q 4. Can civil servants, military personnel, policemen and court officials on duty participate in the electoral campaign of any political party?
A. Civil servants, military personnel, policemen and court officials on duty cannot actively take part in the electoral campaign of any political party and they are not allowed to gather into state buildings or offices to convince voters.

Q 5. What is prohibited active participation of any civil servants, military personnel, policemen and court officials on duty?
A. Prohibited active participation of civil servants, military personnel, policemen and court officials on duty shall be defined as follows:
- Being members of the Permanent Committee for Information and Media or the Commission for Electoral Campaign of any political party;
- Participating in a procession, meeting and march to voice support and/ or criticize any political party or candidate;
- Conducting opinion polls for any political party or candidate;
- Distributing materials to voters in order to support a political party and/ or candidate;
- Making public statements in support of a political party and/ or candidate;
- Orchestrating music in support of a political party and/ or singing songs and/ or disseminating various political messages through loud speakers to support any political party and/ or candidate

Q 6. When can civil servants, military personnel, policemen and court officials participate in electoral campaign activities for political parties?
A. Civil servants, military personnel, policemen and court officials can participate in electoral campaign activities to support any candidate or political party only after having completed their working hours, but they can not wear uniform or carry weapons.

Q 7. What are the roles of International NGOs operating in the Kingdom of Cambodia?
A. The National Election Committee has called for and encouraged International NGOs operating in the Kingdom of Cambodia to actively collaborate in the public education campaign relating to the electoral process to assist in its effectiveness.

Q 8. What shall International and National NGOs do, regarding the content of materials for educating voters?
A. Voter education materials produced by International and National NGOs must be neutral and impartial. They should not suggest support or denigrate of political parties and must comply with the electoral Law and regulations and procedures of the National Election Committee.

Summary Notes from a speech by Cambodian Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy - April 8-10, 2003, Washington, DC
POLITICAL SITUATION
- Hun Sen has run Cambodia for 18 years. During this period, billions of dollars in international aid have been given. The results: virtually no decrease in poverty, and East Asia’s highest AIDS infection rate, illiteracy rate and mortality rate.
- In 2003, Hun Sen’s government has:
* Expelled Global Witness, the World Bank-appointed forestry monitor, for exposing massive government corruption and illegal logging;
* Incited riots against Thailand, causing $50m in damage, and failed to protect the Thai embassy from destruction;
* Used the riots as a pretext to threaten and incarcerate opposition, including Sam Rainsy and radio proprietor Mom Sonando; and
* Allowed the assassinations of democracy activist Om Radsady and monk activist Sam Buthoeun, and murders of two provincial opposition activists.

- Like the July 1997 coup, these actions contribute to ensuring a Hun Sen victory in 2003 elections and have consolidated his grip on the CPP. The worst may be yet to come.
- Despite this environment, Sam Rainsy Party is poised to overtake CPP-partner Funcinpec and seriously challenge Prime Minister Hun Sen.
- Chinese patronage of Hun Sen’s government continues to grow. Beijing is giving new parliament buildings, arming the military and funding political campaigns.
- Without change, lawless Cambodia will become a crossroads for terrorists – a haven for drug running, arms and human trafficking and money laundering. The ship carrying North Korean missiles to Yemen in December 2002 was a Cambodian flagged vessel.
- Last week $14.5m in heroin shipped from Cambodia was discovered at Sydney’s main container port. Cambodia remains the world’s largest producer of marijuana.

2003 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
- The electoral framework is stacked against the democratic opposition with a rubberstamp National Election Committee (NEC), discriminatory registration process, no opposition access to broadcast media, and no end to the impunity for CPP violence and intimidation.
- Violence and intimidation continue to have a chilling effect on partisan and nonpartisan democracy activists, causing them to operate in secret or not at all, fearing for their lives.
- The new NEC is wholly comprised of CPP and Funcinpec members and is dominated by CPP at all levels. This domination allowed CPP to suppress voter registration among key opposition constituencies and develop regulations that hurt the opposition.
- The CPP continues to deny the opposition any access to radio and television – the most important method for getting information to Cambodian voters. Recently independent broadcasters have made headway, but opposition continues to be banned from broadcasts.

SRP's 100 measures - April 9, 2003
The Sam Rainsy Party has released a list of 100 campaign promises in the runup to the June elections. In English and Khmer.

When will the 2003 general election be held?
July 2003 - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of the National Assembly, said Monday that Cambodia will hold its next general election in July 2003. Speaking to reporters, the prince said he heard the election date from Prime Minister Hun Sen. Under Cambodian law, the date for an election must be officially announced at least nine months in advance... Cambodia holds a general election every five years. (Kyodo News Service, April 29, 2002)
Cambodia holds legislative elections every five years, with the date set by the prime minister.

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