CALD Resolution No. 2 S. 2013

CALD Resolution No. 2 S. 2013

CALD resolution congratulating the Cambodian National Rescue Party for its gains
in the last elections and supporting its call for the creation of an independent
commission to investigate allegations of electoral fraud 

The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD):

Acknowledging the significant gains of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) in the 28 July general elections, with the provisional official results indicating that these have been the best performance of the political opposition in years;

Recognizing the crucial role of the youth and women in CNRP’s successful electoral campaign by conveying the opposition’s platform of governance and message of change to the grassroots;

Noting that the provisional results released by the National Election Commission (NEC) showed that the CNRP won 55 out of 123 parliamentary seats, almost double the combined number of seats that the two biggest opposition parties, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and the Human Rights Party (HRP), had in the 2008 general elections;

Aware that based on these NEC figures, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s (CPP) parliamentary seats declined from 90 to 68, depriving it of the two-thirds majority which allowed it to fiddle with the country’s constitution in the past;

Mindful that these provisional results, while showing opposition gains, should be taken with great caution, especially given the claim of CNRP that it actually won 63 parliamentary seats, which, if proven correct, would bestow it the mandate to form the government;

Cognizant that the CNRP claim emanates from instances of unfair election practices and poll irregularities such as partiality of the election commission, use of state resources of the ruling party, unequal access to the media, multiple registration, issuance of fake election documents, among other irregularities, which independent organizations like National Democratic Institute and Human Rights Watch duly documented; and

Regretting that due to tampering of voters’ list, intimidation and outright violence, an estimated 1.2 million Cambodian voters were disenfranchised.

 Hereby:

Congratulates the CNRP for its very strong performance in the recent elections even as it had to deal with electoral institutions and processes which were severely stacked against the political opposition;

Recognizes significant role of Sam Rainsy, whose return from exile provided the inspirational leadership that unified the political opposition and galvanized popular support;

Reiterates its appeal to allow Sam Rainsy to play a full role in the political process, and believes that the denial of his right to vote and contest a seat in the last elections tainted the electoral exercise from the very beginning;

Welcomes the openness between the ruling and opposition parties for a dialogue, especially as regards the formation of an independent, joint commission that would investigate claims of electoral fraud and its impact on poll results;

Urges the Hun Sen government to ensure the independence and fairness of the said commission by making its composition representative of all political forces, by ensuring that its procedures are impartial and credible, and by giving it access to all pertinent election documents and records;

Encourages the UN to serve as an observer to the process to be undertaken by the joint commission, and for both sides to recognize that UN’s involvement in the process would provide greater legitimacy to the commission’s findings; and

Believes that genuine national reconciliation and political consensus can only be realized once the election results reflect the true will of the Cambodian people.

For the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats:

J.R. Nereus Acosta
Secretary General

Categorised in: Resolutions

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