Massive rallies and blistering speeches by leaders of Funcinpec, the CPP and the Sam Rainsy Party marked the beginning of a monthlong campaign period leading up the July 27 general elections.
Addressing a rally of more than 8,000 people Thursday at the CPP headquarters, party President Chea Sim predicted another victory for Prime Minister Hun Sen and the party.
“I am firmly convinced that our compatriots will give a vote of confidence and support to the CPP in leading the Cambodian nation toward progress and happiness,” he said.
The party issued an 11-point political platform, which did not include mention of a continued coalition with Funcinpec.
“We want to win, it is true, but we will win with our dignity,” Hun Sen told reporters at CPP headquarters in Phnom Penh. “So I would like to appeal to the supporters of the CPP to be patient in all cases. The CPP’s response will be on the ballot July 27.”
He said the issue of a coalition “waits to be discussed after the election.”
Wearing hats and T-shirts bearing the party logo, CPP supporters gathered near the Independence Monument to wave CPP flags on the campaign’s opening day.
“The CPP liberated us from the Khmer Rouge regime and the party has built a lot of schools, hospitals and roads for the people,” said 37-year-old Seng Neang.
At a rally in Kompong Cham province, Funcinpec officials assailed the CPP and accused the party of being controlled by Vietnam. About 12,000 people attended that rally, according to Agence France-Presse.
In a speech Thursday, Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh pledged to form an immigration ministry and resolve longstanding border disputes with its eastern neighbor.
“The CPP has no provision among its 11 clauses regarding the illegal immigrants,” he said. “Funcinpec specifies and requires to follow the immigration law and control immigration by creating a ministry of immigration.”
“We will protect not only territorial integrity but also the sovereignty of the nation to avoid being under the influence of a foreign power, namely Vietnam,” he said.
Alluding to the date that the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh in 1975, he said “[the] number 17 represents April 17.” The CPP has the 17th slot on the election ballots.
Meanwhile, Funcinpec Deputy Secretary-General Nhiek Bun Chhay said in Battambang province that his party was dissatisfied with the current coalition.
“It is very good that the CPP does not mention the coalition government [in its directive], because people are not happy about this coalition with the CPP,” said Nhiek Bun Chhay, campaigning in Battambang province.
But he added, “We do not absolutely deny a coalition with the CPP. If we make a coalition government, we must talk with [the CPP] clearly.”
Sam Rainsy, president of the Sam Rainsy Party, denounced both Funcinpec and the CPP in his speech before leading a massive election campaign convoy that snaked through Phnom Penh.
“Change the leader to eliminate corruption, find justice for the poor people, provide good living standards, keep our territories,” he said.
“After the election we will eliminate the communist regime and build a new democratic country,” he said.
Waving a large opposition party flag and with several thousand supporters in tow, Sam Rainsy led the chanting cortege as it departed the National Assembly.
Observers said the opposition convoy grew closer to 10,000 people as the rally wound its way across town.
Speeches by Prince Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy might have violated the code of conduct signed by participating parties, said Leng Sochea, spokesman for the National Election Committee. The code forbids candidates from using language that might incite violence.
“If the situation is out of order, we will send a warning message,” he said.
Also, on Wednesday, a spokesman for the US State Department in Washington reiterated US gestures toward a possible resumption of government aid if the elections are free, fair and violence-free.
“The mechanisms are in place for a credible election process…. The Cambodian people deserve a government with the legitimacy that free and fair elections will bring,” said spokesman Richard Boucher, according to a State Department statement.
“After such elections, we hope that there will be more opportunities for us to pursue dialogue and potentially new programs with the Cambodian government,” he said.
A Funcinpec supporter, Sae Dom, 67, was shot dead Wednesday night by unidentified assailants in Prey Veng province, provincial Governor Chuong Sivuth told the Associated Press.
Though there were no reports of political violence Thursday, one CPP supporter was killed and three others injured when they fell out of a truck in Kompong Chhnang province, police said.
Meas San, 49, died after a door in the back of a truck collapsed, said Kompong Chhnang police chief Touch Narath. The truck was traveling in a CPP convoy on National Route 5.
Away from the rallies, people in Phnom Penh were talking politics.
In an enclave of squatters behind the Russian Embassy, motorcycle taxi drivers under a thatched roof swapped opinions on the competing parties and how the coming month might unfold.
“Gradually, the country is developing,” said 45-year-old Bun Vanna, pointing to a paved road connecting the shanty town to Sisowath Quay. He said he was loyal to the CPP, the party he voted for in 1993 and 1998.
“During the Khmer Rouge, I always prayed that if someone came and helped me, I would never forget it,” he said.
But his friend Cheat Vanna, 47, called the CPP corrupt and backed Funcinpec. “The King’s party is never corrupt. He respects the people,” he said.
“I will vote for change,” he said.
Pen Sorith, 33, said he has not decided about his vote, though he is leaning toward the Sam Rainsy Party. He voted for Funcinpec in 1998, but now thinks the party is weak.
He hoped the elections would bring change.
“I want the freedom to travel, and to talk. For so long, just to travel to Kandal province, we had to get permission,” he said.
Down the road, near Chaktomuk Theater, Sok Somal looked over a notebook of Buddhist scribblings believed to ward away evil spirits. The 64-year-old fortune teller said he supports Sam Rainsy, the “patriot.”
“He is a loyal man. He tries to find freedom for the people,” Sok Somal said.
Sok Somal said he hoped the next month will be free of violence, but forecast trouble from a ruling party he said is ruthlessly committed to keeping power.
He tells himself not to be afraid of intimidation or any of the brutish methods he thinks the CPP might employ.
“The CPP doesn’t take care of people. They kill people freely,” he said. “Otherwise they would never win the election.”
(Additional reporting by Thet Sambath, Nhem Chea Bunly, Lor Chandara and Kevin Doyle)
