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Phnom Penh , 31 July 2007

VOTER LIST “CLEANING” AND
POLITICAL OPPONENT CLEANSING

The current process of “cleaning” voter lists provides the ruling party with an occasion to pre-determine the outcome of the 2008 National Assembly election, and the party is making full use of this opportunity. From July 12 to 26, 551,738 names were deleted from the voter rolls. Some of these, of course, represent people who have died or left the commune. But based on reports from our representatives, we believe that over two thirds of these names were deleted because the people are known or suspected opponents of the ruling party. This reflects a disenfranchisement of some 5% of the nation's eligible voters.

Two methods are employed:

(A) Nationwide, village chiefs propose names to delete to commune councils, who vote to accept or reject the names. Many chiefs write up their names not by surveying the village, but rather by copying the names on the 2007 voter information notices that were not distributed. In theory, if a person did not receive a notice before the 2007 commune council election, then they no longer reside in the village and are therefore ineligible to vote. In reality, these notices were selectively distributed in 2007. Known or suspected opponents to the CPP were not given notices when the chief's team did distribution. As a result, the information notices “left-over” after distribution represent not only people who had died or moved, but also known or suspected opponents of the ruling party. What was at first a one-off disenfranchisement of these voters only in the 2007 election is set to become a permanent deletion of their names from the official voting rolls.

(B) If the chiefs do canvass the village to ascertain presence or absence of persons, they often count as officially absent those voters who are not present at the time of canvassing. This of course is not correct, as many men and women leave their home communes seeking work in Phnom Penh or elsewhere, but return for holidays and voting. These people temporarily absent from their homes include migrant laborers and factory workers who generally do not support the ruling party. Their names are wrongfully erased from the voter list in their homes.

When officials are questioned, they respond that if a person feels victimized, they can come to the office to rectify the mistake. This is irrational. How would a worker who can barely afford to go home for holidays (a) know that his/her name is erased and (b) be able to afford the expense and missed work time in order to travel to the commune office to rectify this error? Such a burden is too heavy on the ordinary citizen. The authorities are creating problems that are solved only for those supporting the CPP thanks to discriminating assistance from the authorities.

Two responses can be enacted simultaneously to solve this problem:

(A) Information about the voter list cleaning should be broadly disseminated through state and private radio and television so voters are aware of the danger. On July 26, SRP President Sam Rainsy sent a letter to Im Sousdey to this effect. [See full text in Khmer and summary in English at http://tinyurl.com/4jrdzo]

(B) We must ensure that persons independent of the CPP power structure have a say in the process. The NEC therefore cannot rely exclusively on the state apparatus. The NEC should form or help to form an investigation team of people from NGOs or other political parties to monitor the name deletion. A free hand has already been given to the village chief to set the lists. We should not allow the commune council simply to rubber stamp the chief's decisions. Now that the chiefs have submitted their names for deletion, the commune council should base its decision from recommendations from stakeholders beyond the chief, including NGOs and opposition parties.

SRP Members of Parliament

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The problems listed in this statement have not been addressed since 2007. They remained topical and became even more acute in 2008, when the last parliamentary election was marred by the same well-identified irregularities.


Phnom Penh, May 2, 2007

SRP Evaluation of 2007 Commune Election

The Sam Rainsy Party recognizes that the 2007 commune election proceeded relatively smoothly on the surface of election day.  In particular, we are happy to note the decline in violence relative to the 1998, 2002 and 2003 elections.  However, serious flaws in the administration of the full election process do lead us to call into question whether the will of the people was truly reflected in the election results. This paper highlights the key problems of the 2007 election and suggests means of resolving them in advance of the 2008 National Assembly election.  Our goal is to guarantee the creation of a fully independent, neutral and competent NEC.

Since the UN-organized 1993 election, the subsequent elections, both local and national, organized by the Cambodian authorities in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2007, have been marred by specific problems.  From one poll to another, a different major problem occurred on a large scale.

The most significant systemic problems in the 2007 election stem from the voter registration process.  SRP President Sam Rainsy had rung the alarm bell in a letter published in the Phnom Penh Post on September 8, 2006, under the headline: “Rainsy predicts disenfranchisement of non-CPP voters.”

Out of 7.8 million registered voters, only 5.1 million (65%) voted.  This is a severe drop-off from the 87% turnout in 2002 and 83% in 2003.  We believe that this drop is primarily due to administrative hurdles to voting that were not in place for previous elections. This year, over two million people (some 25% of the electorate) were denied voice in electing their leaders.  This level of disenfranchisement leads us to question whether the NEC is fulfilling its mandate to secure the constitutional rights of Cambodian citizens.  Administrative problems, often traceable to the fact that CPP members control the operations of government bureaucracies and give preference to political affiliation over professional duty, include the following:

(1)    Voter registration information was given to CPP supporters on time, while it was delivered late or not at all to non-CPP supporters.  This information was distributed by commune and village chiefs, some 98% of whom are members of the CPP.

(2)    When the notices were distributed, verbal instructions were given to CPP supporters on how to register, while non-CPP supporters were simply, in the best case, handed the papers.

(3)    CPP supporters were assisted through the bureaucratic process (checking the spelling of names, completing Form 10/18, providing photographs, etc.), while non-supporters were not.  Many of our citizens, in particular our ethnic minorities in the Northeastern region, spend their lives in the fields and are illiterate or not used to completing paperwork.  These voters stayed away from the polls because they did not have proper paperwork.

(4)    Difficulties for citizens persisted in finding the right polling station in the commune and/or their names on the voter list.

(5)    CPP officials illegally issued form 10/18 on election day for people to register under false names.  These fraudulent voters were then accompanied to the polling station by the CPP officials.  This action was expressly against NEC directives, and the NEC failed to stop it from occurring on April 1.

(6)    The majority of complaints submitted by the SRP related to these irregularities were rejected or ignored.

 

Three egregious non-administrative issues must be addressed as well:

 

(7)    Vote-buying.  The CPP continues to distribute cash and sarongs (clothes) to citizens immediately before the election to pressure them into either voting for the ruling party or abstaining from voting, for those who are perceived as opposition supporters.

(8)    Intimidation.  Local authorities and candidates armed with walkie-talkies patrolled village streets on election day and crossed the perimeter into polling stations.  Prior to election day, non-CPP supporters were reportedly assaulted or intimidated.  Non-CPP party signs were defaced or ordered to be taken down.

(9)    CPP campaign materials were placed on private homes without the consent of the owners.

 

The SRP suggests the creation of a high-level stakeholder committee composed of the NEC, political party representatives, human rights organizations, representatives of the donor community and the UNDP to address the following proposals to improve administration for the 2008 National Assembly election:

 

(1)       Improve the neutrality, independence and accountability of the NEC.

(2)       Create an independent court to monitor the decisions of the NEC.

(3)       Extend the NEC's power to monitor and sanction parties involved in vote-buying from the campaign period only to at least three months before the election.

(4)       Organize long term training of NEC officials.

(5)       Prepare an acceptable voter list.

(6)       Eliminate the government/CPP monopoly over national radio and television.

(7)       Extend the voter registration period from three weeks to year round, at least during election years.

(8)       Ensure that national identity cards or voter identification cards are provided to all eligible voters.

(9)       Simplify the complaint process.

(10)  Increase number of seats in National Assembly in accordance with national election law.

 

Office of the Secretary General