Wednesday, 23 May 2012
By Meas Sokchea
Phnom Penh Post
Although it is illegal for political parties to hang political campaign
signs across public roads, it is permissible for the ruling Cambodian
People’s Party to do so because it built the roads, an official said
yesterday.
An opposition Sam Rainsy Party complaint about the
CPP’s breach of the election law, which prohibits parties from hanging
political propaganda above public roads, was rejected without
explanation by Phnom Penh municipality’s Tuol Sangke Commune Election
Commission on Monday.
“Deny the lawsuit. Those signal boards were
displayed permanently a long time ago,” Tuol Sangke’s CEC official, who
could not be reached yesterday, wrote on the SRP lawsuit as the
response.
National Election Committee secretary-general Tep Nythe defended the rejection, saying election laws did not apply to propaganda constructed before the campaign period.
“It
means that if something was just made newly for election propaganda and
it crosses the streets, we forbid, but what [CPP] has done in a
previous time [we] cannot forbid,” Tep Nytha said.
In the
complaint, the SRP pointed out there were 14 banners over public roads
in the Tuol Sangke commune. SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the rejection
just added to the list of legitimate complaints the NEC had failed to
resolve.
Puthea Hang, executive director of election monitoring organisation NICFEC, said the NEC was shying away from responsibility.
“Putting the signs up a long time ago, means it was also illegal a long time ago,” Puthea Hang said.
But
Tuol Sangke commune chief Soy Kosal said the CPP was free to hang its
signs above the streets since the party constructed them.
“If other parties want to hang signs, they should share in the road construction,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Meas Sokchea at sokchea.meas@phnompenhpost.com
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