Cambodian Ruling Party Confirms Victory, Rivals Boycott

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 01, 2003

Cambodian Ruling Party Confirms Victory, Rivals Boycott

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A 1998-style political stalemate seems to be repeating in Cambodia after Sunday's national election, with the two rivals of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) declaring to reject the election results and not to cooperate with a new government with Hun Sen as premier.

Five years ago, after the July election, the royalist FUNCINPEC party led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh and the self-named opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) also vowed against the results of the election and a coalition with victorious CPP if Hun Sen remained prime minister.

The stalemate lasted for several months until King Norodom Sihanouk stepped in to defuse a bloody political crisis and a CPP-FUNCINPEC coalition government led by Prime Minister Hun Sen was eventually formed.

The preliminary results released by the National Election Committee (NEC) on Thursday show that the ruling CPP is leading with 47.28 percent of the entire countrywide votes. The opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) comes the second with 21.89 percent, narrowly ahead of the royalist FUNCINPEC party's 20.75 percent. The remainder of the votes go to the 19 smaller parties contesting the election.

At the same time, the CPP said it has won 73 seats out of the 123 National Assembly seats, while FUNCINPEC has garnered 26 and the SRP 24. The preliminary official results will be announced by NEC on August 8.

Though the CPP has won the election, it still needs a coalition party for a two-third majority to form a new government under the Cambodian Constitution.

Just like five years ago, the two rivals of the CPP, FUNCINPEC and the SRP, have disputed the results and rejected to join the CPP coalition with Hun Sen still the premier of the new government. They have claimed there were serious irregularities and intimidation during the election process.

Moreover, the SRP has proposed a tripartite party government with Senate President and the CPP President Chea Sim as prime minister, while the SRP leader Sam Rainsy may take over as deputy prime minister.

Under its plan, Hun Sen would be installed as the National Assembly president and current Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh would take over as president of the Senate. As Senate president, Prince Ranariddh would also serve as the acting head of state whenever King Norodom Sihanouk leaves the country.

Meanwhile, the FUNCINPEC ministers and secretaries of state have tentatively agreed to resign from the government to protest Hun Sen's vow to stay in power.

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday vowed to stay on as prime minister and warned his rival not to attempt to oust him. "People support me and they want me to stay," Hun Sen said.

He also said on Thursday that he would not agree to a three-party coalition government and said the SRP should remain permanently in opposition.

Moreover, Hun Sen warned FUNCINPEC that keeping out of a third coalition government with the CPP would be political "suicide" and would cause many royalist party members to lose civil service jobs and their salaries. "They will become the opposition party, which is weaker than the present opposition party," he added.

CPP's honorary President Heng Samrin on Wednesday reaffirmed that the CPP would not compromise on its decision to appoint Hun Sen as the party's candidate for prime minister despite the opposition of the rivals.

More than 80 percent of the 6.3 million eligible voters cast their ballots. One thousand international observers and about 30,000 local observers from all political parties and independent organizations monitored the voting process in more than 12,000 polling stations in the countrywide.

Despite complains by the two parties on poll irregularities, most of the observer groups, including the European Union, Japan, India, have largely praised the elections as a success with no political violence and "reflected the will of the Cambodian people."

The EU European Observer Mission said Wednesday that it found no legal violations that would merit a re-vote or recount.

A delegation representing 56 Francophone states said Wednesday that the election was handled in such a transparent and rigorous way that the election results can only be called true and acceptable, adding that the process met international standards.

Many analysts and citizens here said the atmosphere is calmer than 1998 and they believe that despite the current post-election deadlock, it is likely that FUNCINPEC would join the next coalition government.

Kao Kim Hourn, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said he is optimistic that a coalition government would be agreed.

"Talking from experience, things turn around very quickly," he was quoted by the Cambodian Daily as saying. "The parties tend not to agree initially and agree later on."

The opposition leader Sam Rainsy is set to meet King Sihanouk on Saturday. He and the incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen have expressed their welcome of King's help in solution.

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