New NEC - No Guarantee for Political Stability

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – The recently reformed nine-member National Election Committee (NEC) may well hold vital keys to Cambodia’s political stability in the years to come.

Political analyst and academician Chheang Vannarith, PhD believes the new NEC membership, approved by the National Assembly, is the start of a positive trend of political development for Cambodia. But he is cautious.

“Trust and personal relationship between Prime Minister Hun Sen and the opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, have improved rather remarkably. But how long such political reconciliation and trust will last remains a big question,” Mr. Vannarith said. “The political dialogues between the two political parties need to be conducted at all levels, especially among the youth.”

“In terms of membership and institutional building, the new NEC is much better than the old one,” the analyst continued. “It is expected to be more independent, neutral and transparent. However, it should also be treated with caution as the real test will come with the polls.”

Mr. Vannarith said having a credible and independent NEC is a win-win situation for both the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), as Cambodia moves toward the consolidation of a bi-party political system.

This puts into question past partnerships such as: CPP-Funcinpec, Sam Rainsy Party (SRP)-Funcinpec, and now the SRP- Human Rights Party (HRP) partnership, which is already showing signs of internal fissure and power struggle.

Everyone Needs a Plan

“One other critical factor of the new NEC is to ensure free, fair and inclusive elections and democratic control of the armed forces, as these would be painfully vital to a peaceful and smooth power transition in the Kingdom,” Mr. Vannarith pointed out. “Both the ruling  CPP and CNRP should have appropriate exit strategy once they lose in the upcoming elections, especially in the unlikely scenario of the CPP losing the elections and the possibility of CNRP having control of the military if it does win on the off chance or erode CPP’s majority even further.”

He added that the opposition should act rationally and have a long-term strategic plan and went on to emphasized the benefits of  working together: “Street protests and political pressures are counterproductive to the ongoing culture of dialogue between the two parties, especially at the highest level involving either the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister and CNRP President Sam Rainsy. They need to work together to deliver results from the reform, realizing national development agenda.”

According to the analyst, the ruling CPP gains more from such political development as it helps concretize the government’s development strategy and build investors’ confidence - key elements in securing Cambodia’s forecasted GDP growth.

The Next Big Job

Speaking for the CNRP, Yem Ponhearith told Khmer Times the most important work now that the NEC is approved is to push Cambodians to process their identity cards and register as bona fide voters, getting their names on the electorate list.

“We have to tackle the remaining issues concerning both parties, such as the internal regulation of National Assembly. Both parties will study and discuss more in the coming days and weeks to attain better working relationships and processes which would ensure accountability and transparency,” the CNRP spokesman said.

He added that he could not possibly predict whether politicking and bickering will be stopped post-election. “Let the NEC do its duty first. We should not evaluate its efficacy before its work is done or even started.”

Mr. Ponhearith also could not confirm or deny whether the new NEC will trigger an end to post-election street politics. He claimed that it is the right of expression by the people to gather and express their opinions, irrespective of a new NEC.

He also could confirm that the new NEC is neutral, but he said that new NEC will be better than the old one since its  members come from different sectors such as nongovernmental organizations, both  parties, and the legal profession.

The New and the Old NEC

The new NEC has CPP lawmaker Sik Bunhok as chairman, former NEC members Mean Satik and Em Sopath, and former Interior Ministry official Duch Sorn.

The CNRP did one better with former opposition lawmaker Kuoy Bunroeun, Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association president Rong Chhun, retired government official Te Manirong, and Supreme Court prosecutor and former Phnom Penh municipal court judge Hing Thirith as their representatives in the nine member committee. The executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, Hang Puthea , is the ninth “independent” candidate.

When asked by Khmer Times whether CNRP will soften its anti-government stance in the spirit of the new political landscape, Mr. Ponhearith declined to confirm or deny, but he said that lower GDP forecasts for Cambodia need not necessarily lead to the CNRP bashing the government’s economic performance. He added that the opposition only criticizes the government to help it develop the economy in order to enable Cambodians to have a higher income.

Keeping Politics Out of the Courts

On the issue of political interference in the judiciary, Mr. Ponhearith gave a rather contradictory comment.

He pointed out that the recent release of some prisoners and detainees was not against the principles of noninvolvement in the judiciary because the courts have the right to make such decisions following their legal procedures. The final decision is up the courts.

He also denied that the recent release of land and political activists was a form of political compromise. The opposition party spokesman steadfastly claimed it was the decision of the courts. Yet it was widely reported at the time of release that it was possible only because of political compromise in the spirit of the newly found political detente and trust-building between the ruling CPP and the opposition CNRP.

A senior CPP official surprisingly opposed the release.

Declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, the official said: “We are setting a precedent. While the Government has insisted on more than one occasion publicly that there will be no interference in the judiciary or the courts, time and again this has happened. This could lead to more allegations of impunity by the opposition.”

He continued, “However, I suspect that the CNRP will not allege impunity nor question the independence of the court nor lambast the Government for purported intervention of the Prime Minister in the recent high profile cases as it benefitted the CNRP. Thus, when it benefits the opposition, they will claim the courts did their job, only when it benefits them. 

“This culture has to stop in the name of judicial reforms,” the official stressed.

CPP Spokesman on Elections

Meanwhile, Chhim Phal Virun, the spokesman for the CPP commented to Khmer Times: “We have reformed NEC considerably. Our purpose of reforming the NEC is to have positive achievements in the electoral process and it also means that hopefully, it does not create problems again in the future.”

“If any political parties object or don’t respect the election result of the NEC, it can be assumed as having abandoned their seats in the National Assembly,” he continued. “In the future, I believe that no political party will decide to abandon their seats or boycott the parliament sitting when called by His Majesty the King, as the polls would have been decided by Cambodian citizens who exercised their right to vote for the parties.”

When talking about the upcoming commune and general elections in 2017 and 2018 respectively, Mr. Virun stressed that the NEC’s neutrality will have a huge bearing on all political parties in Cambodia, and they [political parties], including nongovernmental organizations and the general masses, must respect and follow the laws.

If this can be attained, then the entire process will run smoothly, he concluded.

Mr. Virun also pointed out that if any political party made use of the election and its campaign period to instigate or incite land grabs and then used it as a political tool to bash Cambodia’s government and gain popularity, then this will be deemed as contrary to the sprit and law of the NEC, and these actions would be “wicked,” inciting people to break the laws and create unrest and resentment in the society in an attempt to create political and social instability.

When asked to comment on the independence of the judiciary, Mr. Virum said that the release of the Boeung Kak lake activists was not done under political pressure.

He said that people who see it as a political deal are confused. The courts decided and they probably took into consideration positive changes in society, as well as with the detainees, and released them according to the law and not against the law.

“On the contrary, Mr. Meach Sovannara’s case is different,” the ruling party spokesman said. He went on to clarify the court’s actions: “He [Mr. Sovannara] was not a prisoner. He is a defendant. He has not been convicted yet. He was staying in the Prey Sar prison under provisional detention.”

Shine Light on NEC

Kem Ley, founder of the Khmer for Khmer Party, told Khmer Times that if the ruling CPP and the CNRP want to ensure real transparency and neutrality in the NEC, they should open it up for scrutiny by other stake holders, such as nongovernmental organizations and representatives from the public, to monitor the NEC’s enforcement of the election law.

He added that they should check every system involved in the electoral process, such as the voter registry system and the vote counting system.

“All these systems must be reorganized. Even though this new election authority is bad, all the systems mentioned above must undergo reforms and must be revamped for it [the NEC] to be acceptable as a truly neutral authority,” Mr. Ley said.

He continued, “Currently the new NEC members are from two parties represented in the National Assembly. As such, the electoral body at the provinces must comprise more representatives from nongovernmental organization and civil society.”

Mr. Ley added that when he sees the law and willingness of politicians in the current context, future elections will probably bring a bigger crisis than the 2013 election.

This is because, he said, the NEC has now become even more non-transparent. Everything seems to have been carried out in secret with little of public debate and civil society involvement.

There would be no neutrality for the election in 2017 and 2018, Mr. Ley claimed. “All of them [NEC members] are from parties. They work for parties more than the NEC. They listen to the president of their respective party and their leader, even though they officially resigned from the party. It is just a performance for the people.”

He warned that the CNRP risks losing its popularity and may face the people’s wrath, similar to what happened with the Funcinpec Party if it continues its close relationship with the ruling party. Mr. Ley predicted more severe consequences than those experienced by the Funcinpec Party.

“They will lose many seats. CNRP is named as an opposition party, not a ruling party. Their role is to fight the bad points of the ruling party and cozy up to them in the name of political expediency.”

He added that the strength of the CNRP is now questionable as previously, they had opposed the ruling party on many fronts and principles.

“However, now, they seem to part and parcel of the ruling party, thus no more opposing vehemently but rather being their echo in the National Assembly,” Mr. Ley said.

He also said that the culture of “street politics,” as deployed by the opposition CNRP will continue because people still suffer form of social or legal injustice. It is their right to take to the streets and protest against the perceived violation of their rights.

Mr. Ley went on to criticize the government for continuing to interfere in the courts. “It is appearing more and more that there is no independence of the courts and this is happening because of the political ambitions of one party to gain popularity at the expense of the independence of the courts. This will lead to impunity and social disorder.”