Election Group Highlights Fragile State of Democracy

By Lauren Crothers 

The Cambodia Daily

March 13, 2013

Democratic reform deteriorated in Cambodia last year and the ruling CPP continued to dominate the legislative, judicial, law enforcement, media and public administration sectors, the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel) says in its annual report released on Monday.

The report, titled Democracy, Elec­tions and Reform in Cambodia, found that the stifling of dissenting voices in 2012 had put the country on a particularly authoritarian path ahead of the July 28 national elections.

The report assesses a number of areas from governance to political participation, strikes, freedom of expression and democratic reform, but found overall that limitations to freedoms observed in 2011 continued apace last year.

“Comfrel concludes that the Cambodian democracy has experienced further [setbacks] in 2012, confirming the perception among parts of the Cambodian public and the international community that Cambodia’s political system is in an increasingly fragile state of democracy,” the report says in its executive summary, adding that “the democratization process has even deteriorated to some extent” compared to 2011.

Comfrel attributes part of this to a lack of open and constructive discourse on issues such as the performance of the current government, a weakening multi-party system and limitations on the public to participate in politics.

“Controversially, to this day there has been no solution to the politically related conviction of opposition leader and member of Parliament Sam Rainsy, and 72-year-old journalist and human rights defender Mam Sonando,” the report notes.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Mr. Sonando, the owner of the independent Beehive Radio station, to 20 years in jail on October 1 in a decision widely re­buked by rights groups as politically motivated and intended to stifle the voice of a popular government critic. Mr. Rainsy is currently in self-imposed exile facing an 11-year jail sentence on charges of incitement and destruction of public property.

The Comfrel report also ob­served “authoritarian tendencies” on the political playing field, which the body described as anything but level.

For example, last year saw the CPP retain its control of the Senate following the January 2012 elections, while it also took 1,592 of the country’s 1,633 communes in the June commune elections.

This year, there are 123 National Assembly seats again up for grabs, to determine Parliament’s fifth mandate—but no meaningful change in the National Election Committee (NEC) and concerns over the voter list have led Comfrel in its report to believe that the CPP would retain its dominance over the assembly.

The opposition SRP asked that NEC members be appointed through a specially created multi-party body, but that was rejected. The NEC also rejected 60 percent of reforms put to it by election monitors.

These included changing the way election officials are appointed, extending the time state-owned stations can broadcast election news, expense reports, and a more transparent ballot-counting process.

“Despite domestic and international pressures to reform the election system, neither substantial reforms were made nor existing laws implemented,” Comfrel says, adding that concerns were raised by U.N. Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi last year that a refusal by the government to allow Mr. Rainsy to return and contest the elections could lead to social unrest.

“Accordingly, international as­sessments of the state of democracy in Cambodia were predominantly critical to negative in 2012 and have questioned the conduct of free and fair elections, the state of human rights protection and the procedural quality of the democracy,” Comfrel says.

However, it noted that the merging of the SRP and HRP to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), coupled with rising social tensions, “might lead to gains for the opposition” in July’s ballot.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Ny­tha said that while he had heard about the report, he had not read it. Still, he flatly rejected any thoughts that the NEC could negatively impact the election due to political influence.

“It is unacceptable; we respect the rule of law,” he said. “We don’t know what Comfrel’s report was based on.”

Mr. Nytha said the NEC conducted successful senate and commune elections last year and also defended the voter list, which he described as “98 percent good.”

In its recommendations, Com­frel said more needs to be done to defuse the links between the ruling party and the judiciary, in particular.

“The new National Assembly should be strengthened and op­position parties have more in­volvement in the policy-making process,” Comfrel added.

Civil, political and community activists in prison should be am­nestied, while the police should refrain from electioneering, it also suggests.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan accused Comfrel of being “an agent to echo what the opposition party does.”

“Predicting unrest in society is wrong and baseless,” he said. “Comfrel wants to see that happen in Cambodia.”

“Democracy is based on the rule of law, and is based on participation,” he continued, adding that the Cambodian people have consistently made their preferences known through elections, which he insisted are both free and fair.

(Additional reporting by Eang Mengleng)