The coalition government’s CPP and the Funcinpec parties plan to sign a “unification agreement” expressing their determination to have the commune elections next year.
The agreement will also address the party’s views against intimidation of voters and commune council candidates, said Serey Kosal, deputy secretary-general of Funcinpec.
“We want to show political parties in Cambodia, and the international community, that the commune elections will be fair and citizens will have a right to participate without suppression,” Serey Kosal said Monday.
The elections, the first in Cambodia, are tentatively scheduled to take place early next year in Cambodia’s more than 1,600 communes. Commune leadership in Cambodia is almost all CPP.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, deputy president of the ruling CPP, and Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh met informally a few days ago and agreed to sign a unification agreement, Serey Kosal said.
“It is very important and it is a good principle to eliminate suspicion and fear during the elections,” he said.
The only confirmed political violence against a commune candidate took place last year, when a Funcinpec man and his wife were fatally shot near Kampot.
The steering committees of both the CPP and Funcinpec will meet soon to draft the unification agreement, said Teth Ngorn, chief of the CPP cabinet.
He said the agreement is needed to avoid condemnation by the international community.
“We want this election to be practiced through democracy and legal means,” Teth Ngorn said.
But he said there was no need to include the Sam Rainsy Party in the agreement because it is not a part of the coalition government.
“Why do we need the Sam Rainsy Party?” Teth Ngorn asked. “There is no need to have them. The parties in the coalition government have the duty to protect people’s safety.”
Phi Thach, chief of the Sam Rainsy Party cabinet, called the agreement ridiculous, saying CPP leaders always assert they are against intimidation, but no one is held accountable for their actions.
“We always worry about our survival,” Phi Thach said.
Chea Vannath, president of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, said the agreement has the appearance of the two parties getting together to get “a share of the pie,” as opposed to ensuring a democratic process in the elections.
“It’s something that is not in the right direction,” she said. “You talk about serving the people, but your actions are for the party.”
