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Voice of America News
August 23,
2003
Summary: Article discusses the
results of the Cambodian election and their implications.
Voice of America News
Ruling Party Wins Cambodian Election
By
Gary Thomas
August 23, 2003
Official results have been released from Cambodia's general
elections. As expected, the ruling party won, but fell short of a
governing majority. The real politicking for forming a government
now begins. The results announced Friday by the National Election
Committee held no real surprises. Prime Minister Hun Sen's
Cambodian Peoples' Party, or CPP, was in first place with just over
47 percent of the popular vote. The Sam Rainsy Party was second with
nearly 22 percent, and the royalist party known as Funcinpec came in
third with just under 21 percent. A smattering of small parties
picked up the remaining votes. But Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy
Party are rejecting those tallies - at least for now. Speaking to
VOA by telephone from Phnom Penh, Sam Rainsy reiterated the
allegation of serious cheating in the election. "The opposition
rejected this morning this result that we consider totally unfair
and not reflecting the will of the Cambodian people," he said. But
international observers have said that the polls, while marred by
some intimidation and vote-buying, were better than previous
elections and were, by and large, free and fair. The allocation of
seats in the 123-seat National Assembly will be determined later
under a complex formula of proportional representation, and may not
be known for several more weeks. However, it is certain that the CPP
will fall short of the two-thirds majority necessary under Cambodian
law to govern alone, and thus will again have to find a junior
coalition partner. Funcinpec was in the last coalition, and
election analysts have said its partnership with the CPP was a key
factor in the royalist party's relatively poor showing this time
around. Estimates are that it will lose 17 seats from its 1998
total. Both Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party have said they will
not join a CPP government unless Prime Minister Hun Sen steps down.
Sam Rainsy says that in addition, all three major parties must be
part of any coalition. "We have a common stance that we would like
to see a new prime minister," he said. "And if there is any
coalition government in the future, it will be a three-party
government." Hun Sen has already rejected any suggestion that he
step aside. Electoral analysts see the opposition stance as the
opening stage in the intense political bargaining that is expected
to come. The 1998 elections ended with a similar deadlock that
persisted for several months, and sparked street unrest in which
several people were killed. |
