Mu Sochua elected as SRP Sec-Gen

(January 15, 2007/ Phnom Penh) Madam Mu Sochua, former Minister for Women’s and Veterans Affairs and former Member of Parliament of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was elected late December as Secretary General of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).

SRP is a member of CALD and the Hon. Sam Rainsy, MP served as CALD Chairman from 2000 to 2001.

Madam Mu Sochua left Cambodia at age eighteen to live and study in France and then California, becoming a refugee when the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975.  She returned to Cambodia in 1989.  She ran in the 1998 elections and won a seat representing Battambang, one of the most war-torn provinces in Cambodia and where her parents lost their lives.  Minister Mu Sochua is involved in numerous civic activities focused on strengthening the rights of women, defending human rights, and preventing the trafficking of women and children.  She has also been involved in campaigns to end domestic violence and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Madam Mu Sochua has attended several CALD activities including the 2nd NDI-CALD Political Party Reform Workshop (2003, Bangkok), the Manila leg of the four-country NDI-CALD electoral visits (2004), the 2^nd CALD Communications Workshop (2004, Phnom Penh), the SRP Mission to Manila during the Interparliamentary Union General Assembly (2005, Manila) and the CALD Conference on Public Accountability in ODA (Siem Reap, 2006).

Below is the statement of Madam Mu Sochua:

The Secretary General is to make the SRP machinery work and that task can never be achieved if one works alone or with just a few groups of selected people. I believe in team work, I believe in reaching out, I believe in the power of ideas and actions. But with a real focus.

2007 and 2008 are the major challenge. SRP is ready because of our internal reforms. Every village and commune election has paid off with SRP being the only party that checks and monitors the National Elections Commission during the registration period of 24 days. The NEC is on its toes because SRP speaks out against irregularities and bad performance.  SRP is ready for 2007 because of its base. The power of a political party is its base.

As other parties are crumbling or fighting to survive or empowering themselves at the cost of the poor, SRP is empowering the poor to take action for change.   

When I travel to the base and see our party sign in front of a hut, in the most distant and remote village, tears come to my eyes. If the owners of that hut has the courage and pride to show that they belong to SRP, our simple duty is to serve them, to make the light glow not just for the hut but for the entire village.

We have come to the end of putting up our candidate lists for the 2007 elections. We will field candidates in around 1,580 communes out of 1,621 communes. This is an improvement from 2002 when we had candidates for just around 1,300 communes. Considering the huge task of selecting competent candidates-about 20,000 candidates, we are encountering problems in only few communes. The process of selection is a very tedious one as it must be conducted in the most democratic manner. And problems must be resolved in the most democratic manner.

Our teams are in Preah Vihear, Rattanak Kiri, Mondol Kiri and reporting back every day. Yesterday afternoon, our president spoke by phone to a group of supporters in Preah Vihear and this direct communication is a real plus for us and will be a positive factor for 2007 and 2008.

As SG, my main task is to strengthen and to re-activate the machinery so it can be of support to each provincial team. Communicating with the general public, the diplomatic corps and of course our supporters and leaders abroad will be a priority as well. 

Our website is updated on a daily basis and the cabinet of the president puts out a newsletter that can be accessed by internet.

We will bring our candidates lists for 2007 to the commune election committee offices (CEC) between 1-3 January. Our lists of party agents will be completed by January 7th. And our training program for party agents and candidates will be running by February 2007. We have already started our “soft” campaign with small community meetings and home visits. Our president travels to the base several days each week and our MPs are with their constituents on a regular basis.

Let’s us all give a V for SRP victory in 2007 and 2008.

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This post was written by CALD