Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh has been criticized for naming top party members to be potential candidates for the upcoming 2003 national elections because the candidates he is proposing are not popular with voters, high-ranking party officials said on Tuesday.
Not included on the list of potential candidates were Funcinpec Secretary General Prince Norodom Sirivudh, Funcinpec lawmaker Princess Norodom Vacheara, Senator and party Deputy Secretary-General Khem Sokha and longtime loyal party member Keo Remy.
The prince appointed 23 Funcinpec members—including his daughter, Princess Ratana Devi, Minister of Tourism Veng Sereyvuth and embattled co-Minister of Interior You Hockry—to hold executive positions within the party to oversee individual provinces, according to documents he signed on June 27 and July 2.
The chair of an executive provincial position often becomes the first choice to be candidate in parliamentary elections. The seat for Kandal province has not yet been chosen.
Funcinpec officials on Tuesday attacked Prince Ranariddh’s choice for potential national election candidates, claiming that the prince left off the names of some popular Funcinpec members and officials and replaced them with “wealthy, corrupt” officials.
“These people [the prince chose] are not famous or popular and could not convince the voters to vote for them or the party,” said one high-ranking party official. “These candidates were chosen because they are closer to Ranariddh and have money.”
Outspoken Funcinpec members who have never been close to Prince Ranariddh or do not always agree with the party president were not chosen to run for parliamentary seats in the upcoming election slated for late July 2003, the official said.
Princess Vacheara, who won a Funcinpec parliamentary seat in 1998 when she ran in Siem Reap province, said Prince Ranariddh is most likely unhappy with her because she often speaks out against the coalition government and is thought of as a troublemaker.
“Maybe the prince thinks I don’t have the ability to be a candidate, or maybe the members do not like me because they think I am making problems for the coalition,” Princess Vacheara said on Tuesday. “But for me, I have been happy with what I have done for the nation—I have protested against corruption and injustice and followed border issues. Whenever I see wrongdoing, I tell the truth.”
She added, however, that Funcinpec might not have enough money for campaigning during the 2003 elections, which is why the prince chose wealthy potential candidates.
She denied that there was a rift between royal family members, saying, “A man and a wife have a different idea of thinking, and Funcinpec is the same.”
Prince Norodom Sirivudh declined to comment on Tuesday.
Funcinpec Steering Committee member Khek Vandy, the husband of Minister of Culture Princess Bopha Devi, said on Tuesday that the 23 officials chosen are not certain candidates yet. He said that if one of the chosen 23 officials does not perform well before the election, “there might be changes.”
He denied that the current potential candidates are not good choices, saying they were chosen because they have popularity, money and knowledge, which makes them good candidates for the election.
Khek Vandy did question not placing Keo Remy on the list. He said Keo Remy has been an active member of the party and should have a candidacy, but acknowledged that it is not his responsibility to choose the potential candidates.
Some of the potential candidates include Funcinpec Senator Nhiek Bun Chhay, Minister of Rural Development Ly Thuch, Minister of Information Lu Laysreng and Minister of Public Works and Transport Khy Taing Lim.
Only Nhiek Bun Chhay’s selection to the list went uncriticized by top Funcinpec officials interviewed on Tuesday.
Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay on Tuesday said his party welcomes any Funcinpec members who want to join the opposition party.
