Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Ung Bun-Ang on Tuesday urged people not to worry about the post-election political standoff, saying he was “strongly optimistic” the disputes between the CPP, the Sam Rainsy Party and Funcinpec can be resolved before the first National Assembly meeting.
“So far, Cambodian people should not be worried about the current situation,” Ung Bun-Ang said. “We have all politically matured and will not use violence to solve the political problems.”
Ung Bun-Ang said he was confident the parties would begin negotiations before the Sept 27 deadline to convene the new Assembly.
However, officials from the Alliance of Democrats, a union between Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday they are no closer to beginning official talks with the CPP on forming a new government.
Although CPP officials have refused to negotiate with the Alliance, Ung Bun-Ang repeated Tuesday that Funcinpec and Sam Rainsy Party representatives would not meet individually with the CPP. He and Funcinpec spokesman Kassie Neou denied their respective parties had begun unofficial talks with the CPP.
The CPP won 73 of the 123 Assembly seats in the July 27 general election, nine fewer than it needs to form a government on its own.
Ung Bun-Ang said Funcinpec and Sam Rainsy Party officials were drawing up documents and procedures ahead of talks with the CPP. Alliance officials also said they were trying to keep their members abreast of the latest developments. Despite joining together as the Alliance early last month, Funcinpec and Sam Rainsy Party officials said Monday that party members at the commune and district levels may not yet be aware of their union.
“Only higher leaders in Phnom Penh know, but lower members in the provinces do not know if it is true or not,” Sam Rainsy Party Senator Ou Bunlong said. He said officials were in the process of informing lower-level members.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Funcinpec Secretary-General Prince Norodom Sirivudh and opposition party leader Sam Rainsy met with US diplomats and members of the Cambodian community in Washington to rally international support for the Alliance.
In comments broadcast on Radio Free Asia on Monday night, the two leaders said they would continue to work together.
(Additional reporting by Thet Sambath and Nhem Chea Bunly)