Cambodia opposition calls for poll reform

Over 5,000 joined CNRP protest in Phnom Penh for free and fair elections - Video by Somnang Ek

• AAP
• May 20, 2013
• http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au

ABOUT 2,000 Cambodian opposition members on Monday marched through the capital Phnom Penh to appeal for the help of the United Nations and the European Union to ensure free and fair elections.

Kem Sokha (middle), vice-president of the opposition CNRP lead the rally.

It was the second time in less than a month that the opposition has taken to the streets of the Cambodian capital to demand election reforms and the return of their leader-in-exile Sam Rainsy to contest polls on July 28.

The demonstrators from the recently formed Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) marched with posters that read "Change The National Election Committee" and "No Sam Rainsy, No Free And Fair Election".

They submitted a petition at the EU delegation asking for the bloc's intervention, and marched to the United Nations rights office where party leaders briefly met with visiting UN envoy Surya Subedi.

"We are seeking their intervention to push for reforms to the National Election Committee to ensure a free and fair election," said Kem Sokha, deputy head of the CNRP.

"We are also demanding that Sam Rainsy be allowed to fight in the election," he told reporters.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has led the country since 1985 and Rainsy, his main challenger, is barred from running in the polls due to a string of convictions that the opposition says are politically motivated.

Rainsy, who lives in exile in France to avoid prison, faces 11 years in jail if he returns, after he was convicted in absentia for charges that included publishing a "false map" of the border with Vietnam.

Hun Sen recently said he would step down as prime minister when he turns 74 -- having previously said he would serve until 90.

The strongman premier has warned that Cambodia risks a return to war if the opposition wins due to Rainsy's vow to prosecute members of the government for their alleged roles in the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror in the late 1970s.