The Opposition Parliamentarians note with disappointment that the senate election bill that has already been passed in the National Assembly serves nothing but the ruling parties interests. As always, the Senate is expected to formally rubber stamp the bill into law when it sits on Monday.

The law has been designed to maintain the Senate as an exclusive club. Senators for the second mandate are to be elected by existing commune councillors and members of parliament. As they are likely to tow to their party line, independents and other political parties that wish to compete are doomed to fail; they have no representation in the current commune councils and legislature. Their right to participate is undoubtedly severed; the upshot is that Cambodia misses an opportunity to regenerate and expand its political elite.

The Senate election scheduled for January 2006 will not be fair. It is overwhelmingly based on commune election outcomes in 2002 which no longer reflects the current thinking of the electorates. The Opposition parliamentarians therefore insist, for the sake of fairness, that the Senate election – if it really has to be elected by the commune councilors – be postponed until after the next commune elections in 2007.

The Opposition MPs would like to put on notice that, should it be successful in the national elections scheduled in 2008, it will amend the Constitution to make the Senate election open, inclusive, fair, and to make the Senate responsible to the nation. Meanwhile, Friends of Cambodia are urged not to support such closed and undemocratic elections.

The SRP Parliamentarians

Further information, contact SRP Press Office

Sam Rithy Duong Hak, 012 802 753

Ung Bun-Ang, 012 605 999