Senior members of the police and military have campaigned for the ruling CPP, which Human Rights Watch (HRW) said has “created an intimidating atmosphere” for voters in the lead-up to Sunday’s national election.
In a statement, HRW’s Asia director Brad Adams accused several generals of promoting the ruling CPP, including Royal Cambodia Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Pol Saroeun, his deputy, Hing Bunhieng, Joint General Staff chairman Kun Kim and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s son, Hun Manet—who has just been promoted to three-star general.
“Cambodia’s armed forces and police should be nonpartisan state institutions, but during the pre-election period they have acted as the campaign arm for Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling party,” Mr. Adams said.
“Security forces that act on behalf of one party skew election results and make the process unfair for other parties and candidates.”
Mr. Adams claimed that Gen. Saroeun “visited Preah Sihanouk province on May 26 to urge voters not to be fooled by opposition propaganda and instead to ensure a CPP election by voting en masse for it.” He also said Lt. Gen. Bunhieng had allegedly met with and tried to secure the votes of factory workers in Kandal province on May 19.
Lt. Gen. Kim “toured Oddar Meanchey province in late May to call on people to vote for the CPP to ensure Hun Sen would remain prime minister,” while Lt. Gen. Manet “on June 27 visited Svay Rieng province to headline a CPP election rally at which local authorities promised he would return there many more times to campaign for the CPP.”
Police General Keo Vanthan is vice chairman of a CPP election campaign working group, and is alleged to have visited Prey Veng province “to seek defections from the opposition” to the ruling party, HRW claimed.
Police General Dul Koeun also went to Kandal province “where he campaigned on July 19, calling for a landslide CPP victory to demonstrate what he declared was the ‘feebleness’ of the opposition,” the statement says.
According to HRW, such actions have undermined a speech given by Mr. Hun Sen in April, in which he called on authorities and armed forces to behave in a neutral way “for the whole conduct of the elections.”
According to Mr. Adams, “the partisan role of the security forces not only affects the voting, but also the post-election period, when the opposition parties and their supporters are vulnerable to retaliation and other abuses.”
The election law prohibits military and police officials from campaigning in uniform, using state resources and campaigning during working hours.
