Rainsy Sends Draft Constitution Chapter to Government

Sam Rainsy (L) shakes hand with Hun Sen as Sar Kheng looks on.

BY MECH DARA AND ALEX WILLEMYNS | AUGUST 1, 2014 

CNRP President Sam Rainsy has sought to circumvent the methodical “working groups” established to finalize the details of the deal struck with Prime Minister Hun Sen last week by sending his own draft reforms to the government for approval.

Mr. Hun Sen and Mr. Rainsy on July 22 forged a deal for the CNRP’s 55 lawmakers to end their boycott of the National Assembly in exchange for an overhaul of the election commission, which the opposition party accuses of helping to rig last year’s election.

Three working groups then began negotiating the final details of the deal’s reforms, but two of the three adjourned until today and Monday, leading to accusations from Mr. Rainsy that the ruling CPP was stalling his party’s swearing-in.

He said Thursday that in order to bypass the tardy groups, he had sent Interior Minister Sar Kheng his own draft of a new constitutional chapter that enshrines the financial autonomy of a new “election organization” and gives its members immunity from prosecution.

“The final technical commissions are too slow, so we have to use a different procedure. This is why we took the initiative to write directly and expose directly on the table what we—[CNRP Vice President] Kem Sokha—and I, propose,” Mr. Rainsy said.

“The ball is in the CPP’s court, because we are waiting for a final reply. If the CPP agrees to our latest proposal…the way is cleared for our going to the swearing-in ceremony.”

Mr. Kheng, speaking to reporters at a governance ceremony at the Phnom Penh Hotel Thursday morning, confirmed he received Mr. Rainsy’s draft chapter and was reviewing it.

Mr. Kheng said the CPP was paying particularly close attention to the articles stipulating that members of a reformed National Election Committee (NEC) receive immunity from prosecution.

“In general, within this there is nothing too difficult for discussion, [but] there are two points that need to be studied in more detail,” Mr. Kheng said. “The first concerns the immunity of the NEC members. They want to have immunity like lawmakers and, in fact, in our past we have not had this outside of the Constitutional Council.”

“We need to discuss this in more detail about the true intentions of the request to have the immunity,” he said. “The second concerns financial autonomy. We have agreed to financial autonomy, in which finance comes from two sources: from the government and abroad.”

Mao Monivann, the deputy chairman of the CNRP’s executive committee and a lawmaker-elect, said he expects a result soon.

“The swearing-in ceremony, of course, can take place early next week and the rest of the other stuff… on amending the internal rules of National Assembly can be discussed after the swearing ceremony.”

CPP spokesman Cheam Yeap could not be reached.

Mr. Rainsy said he too still expects a prompt response from ruling party leaders about his draft, to allow for a possible swearing-in next week.

“We have come to the point where it is just finalizing not the details but the wording,” he said. “It’s just the wording—to be more specific and not to expose ourselves later to misinterpretation.”

(Additional reporting by Kuch Naren)

dara@cambodiadaily.com; willemyns@cambodiadaily.com