Cambodia : The battleground seats

Cambodia : The battleground seats

Siem Reap
6 seats

Though Siem Reap has long been a ruling-party stronghold (the CPP won four of six seats here in 2003, increasing their spoils to five of six seats in 2008), if recent opposition rallies are anything to go by, the province could be one of the more competitive domains in this election.

An estimated 100,000 supporters turned out to greet Sam Rainsy there Wednesday, possibly matching the number that turned out in Phnom Penh, the party’s traditional base, for his return from self-exile.

Rainsy’s rhetoric in Siem Reap aimed to exploit local sentiments that “Vietnamese” businesses have too much control over the province’s lucrative tourist trade.

Analysts also say that living standards in Siem Reap, which remains one of the Kingdom’s poorest provinces, will be a key issue.

Kampong Speu
6 seats

Despite being a relatively small province and one dominated by the CPP at the last national election, observers point to Kampong Speu as an area where competition between the two main parties will heat up in this election.

The now-merged SRP and HRP together won 34 per cent of total votes in last year’s commune elections, to the CPP’s 56 per cent, up from the 28 per cent of votes won between them in the 2008 national election.

In those same commune elections, parties other than the CPP were able to win 33 per cent of seats.

Old rivalries will also come to a head in Kampong Speu, with Pen Sovann, Cambodia’s first prime minister after the Khmer Rouge and a historic rival of Hun Sen, placed first on the CNRP ballot.

Hun Many, the premier’s youngest son and the first to run for office, is listed as a CPP candidate.

A successful election for him would signal the first step towards a new generation of CPP leadership.

Phnom Penh
12 seats

The Kingdom’s capital, worth a sizeable 12 seats, will always be an electoral battleground. In 2003, half the seats were won by the SRP, with the CPP and Funcinpec taking four and two seats respectively.

With Funcinpec’s 2008 electoral wipeout, the CPP took seven seats to the SRP’s five in 2008.

This election, observers are tipping the major parties to be in a dead heat for Phnom Penh, though some say the CNRP might have a slight edge.

Party heavyweights will also face-off in the capital, with CPP chairman/Senate president Chea Sim and former Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema running for the ruling party, while influential lawmaker Son Chhay and party spokesman Yim Sovann are on the CNRP ballot.

Kampong Cham
18 seats

The most populous province, with a mammoth 18 seats on offer, and home to many of the Kingdom’s sizeable Muslim Cham minority, Kampong Cham was one of the most contested provinces in the 2012 commune elections (where non-ruling parties managed to win 40 per cent of the total available seats).

The CPP won 11 seats here in 2008, but analysts expect the opposition to make further inroads this election. In a sign of the province’s clout, CNRP deputy president Kem Sokha and National Assembly president/CPP honorary chairman Heng Samrin are both running here as candidates, as is Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

Funcinpec’s president, Princess Norodom Arun Rasmey, is also running in Kampong Cham and hopes to retain the seat won in 2008 by a fellow royalist from the now-defunct Norodom Ranariddh Party (with which Funcinpec recently merged).

Prey Veng
11 seats

Although the CPP picked up seven of the 11 seats available in Prey Veng in 2008 on the back of Funcinpec’s decline, the province was the most contested in the 2012 commune elections.

In last year’s election, the HRP and SRP polled a total of 210,209 votes to the CPP’s 258,716 votes. Now that the opposition parties have merged into the CNRP, Prey Veng could shape up for a major showdown.

Given that the province is located on the border with Vietnam, observers say the CNRP’s anti-Vietnamese rhetoric will appeal to Prey Veng voters.

Kandal
11 seats

With 11 seats on offer, Kandal province, home to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s National Assembly seat, has been labelled by some observers as “the province to watch” this election.

In 2008, the SRP held on to three seats in the province. Its current CNRP alliance partner, the HRP, also picked up a seat amid the Funcinpec implosion that saw the royalists lose all three of their seats in the province.

The opposition will be hoping to claw back some of the CPP’s seven seats in Kandal come Sunday, but with Hun Sen’s reputation on the line, the ruling party is likely to do all it can to remain dominant.

Resource from:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/battleground-seats

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Cambodia : Cambodians go to polls as PM Hun Sen seeks to extend grip on power

Cambodia : Cambodians go to polls as

 PM Hun Sen seeks to extend grip on power

The former Khmer Rouge fighter turned prime minister appears so confident of victory that he did not even bother to personally campaign for the parliamentary election.

Galvanised by the return from exile of their leader Sam Rainsy, his political foes have injected some rare competition into the race.

But the opposition has also decried signs of voter fraud and warned a Hun Sen win will be "worthless" without Mr Rainsy's participation.

The French-educated former banker returned to Cambodia on July 19 from self-imposed exile after receiving a surprise royal pardon for criminal convictions which he contends were politically motivated.

But he is barred from running as a candidate since the authorities said it was too late to add his name to the electoral register.

"If the prime minister wants to keep his position he must be brave enough to confront me," Mr Rainsy said on the eve of the vote.

"It's very unfair and shows that the current prime minister is really a coward," he added.

His Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) says many names have disappeared from the electoral roll while thousands of people could not vote as someone else had already used their ballot.

Party spokesman said Yim Sovann the ink used for voting was also easily washed off.

"The situation is more serious than at any previous election," he said.

Ruling party confident of landslide

New York-based Human Rights Watch has warned the vote will be anything but free and fair, highlighting alleged manipulation of voter rolls and campaigning by senior security forces officers for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

"The process has been manipulated to ensure victory for the ruling party," said HRW Asia director Brad Adams.

While the government denies the allegations, CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the party was confident of another landslide.

"We expect to keep an absolute majority," he said.

About 9.6 million people are registered to vote - more than one-third of whom are below the age of 30.

Hun Sen oversaw Cambodia's transformation from a nation devastated by the Killing Fields genocide era to become one of Southeast Asia's most vibrant economies.

The 60-year-old premier - who has vowed to rule until he is 74 - is regularly accused of trampling on human rights and quashing political dissent.

And while garment exports and tourism have brought double-digit economic growth, Cambodia remains one of the world's poorest countries.

Resource from:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-28/cambodians-go-to-polls-but-opposition-cries-foul/4848766

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Cambodia opposition chief Sam Rainsy barred from poll

Cambodia's newly returned opposition leader cannot be a candidate in upcoming polls, election authorities ruled Monday, rejecting his application to stand against strongman premier Hun Sen.

Sam Rainsy, who was greeted by huge crowds on Friday after his return from self-imposed exile in France, "did not fulfil the conditions in the process of registering candidates," National Election Committee (NEC) president Im Sousdey said in a letter.

"Regarding the request to register your excellency's name, the NEC cannot include it based on the... electoral law," said the letter, in response to Rainsy's application on Sunday to be added to the list.

NEC officials have previously suggested that it was unlikely the opposition leader, who was removed from the electoral register late last year, would be able to stand in the July 28 polls under the current law.

Rainsy has reportedly warned of a backlash if he is barred from standing.

He is seen as the main challenger to Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly three decades.

Until he received a surprise royal pardon this month, Rainsy had faced 11 years in jail if he returned to Cambodia after he was convicted in absentia on charges that he contends were politically motivated.

Following his return home he has already hit the campaign trail to spearhead his party's efforts to loosen Hun Sen's grip on power.

Resource from:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130722/cambodia-opposition-chief-barred-poll-1

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Cambodia : Hero's welcome for returning Rainsy

Cambodia : Hero's welcome 

for returning Rainsy

Over the course of 10 kilometres and three hours this morning, one could be forgiven for forgetting what country they were in.

A sea of supporters likely numbering more than 100,000 turned out to greet opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who touched down in Phnom Penh at 9:05am to a hero’s welcome following nearly four years of self-exile.

Slideshow of Rainsy's return

Supporters thronged the entire route from Phnom Penh International Airport to Freedom Park, slowing the convoy to a crawl as adulatory crowds swarmed around the cars carrying the opposition leader – arm-arm with Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy president Kem Sokha - and his retinue.

Just one week after he was granted a royal pardon, Rainsy descended from the plane with Sokha in tow, stepped onto the tarmac, and kissed the ground.

As the pair drove out of the gates, and a planned press conference disintegrated amid the chaos, Rainsy grabbed a microphone and shouted above the din of the crowd.

“I am so excited to see all of you. I am so happy, so excited to meet all my compatriots. Thank you, all of you. We are now walking together,” Rainsy told the overjoyed supporters. “I came this time to rescue the nation with all of you.”

While the amnesty pardoned Rainsy from 11 years in prison, for convictions on a raft of defamation and forgery charges widely believed to be politically motivated, it included no stipulations about his eligibility to run. His name has been stricken from both the voter list and candidate list in adherence with rules forbidding convicted persons to run, and the National Election Committee has stood firm that they cannot legally re-list Rainsy unless the laws are amended.

Regardless, if the crowds that turned out are any indication, it is clear that the return will provide a massive boost for the beleaguered party.
“I love him. I want him to be the [prime minister] of Cambodia. I want to change the [Prime Minister] and we needed him to come back,” said Un Charin. The 28-year-old motodop had come to the airport hours before Rainsy was set to arrive, 20 friends in tow.

“I studied in a university in Battambang for two years, but I can’t find a good job. I wanted to work in a company, but you have to pay money just to get a job. It’s time for a change,” he said, before bursting into chant of b’do, or change.

As the trucks slowly made their way toward Freedom Park, supporters – some of whom had been camped out since dawn – let out enormous cheers. Whole companies trickled out of their offices, the employees standing in neat lines, snapping photos with iPads and holding up homemade signs.

Near a factory, dozens of garment workers pressed against the barrier dividing the north and southbound lanes of Russian Boulevard.

“I missed lunch time, but that’s okay with me, I wanted to see His Excellency Sam Rainsy,” said 20-year-old Sreymom, a CNRP sticker plastered to her cheek. While the government has been touting its recent increase of the minimum wage in the garment sector, workers, she said, were more impressed by the CNRP’s promise of $150 a month minimum.

“I support the CNRP,” she said.

That sentiment is not limited to those in the garment industry.

Le Hour, a civil servant employed by the Ministry of Education, said Rainsy was the clear choice.

“He has a high knowledge of economic matters and enough stability to run our country. No corruption, no evictions,” he said.

“I’m a member of the CPP inside the ministry, but I don’t support the CPP’s policies. Many people [secretly] don’t support them, because they have too low a salary.”

Along the parade route, that appeared to be borne out.

As the cars slid by the Por Sen Chey district office of Education, Youth and Sports, officials leaned over the second-story balcony to watch the show. On the far end, metres away from their CPP-polo clad colleagues, a pair of well-dressed civil servants flashed the number 7.

A 30-year-old monk from Wat Stung Meanchey shouted “change!” before turning to speak to a reporter.

“I am happy to be able to come here and welcome our leader; he is brave and inspirational for the people. He is a man who truly loves his nation,” said venerable Chhit Sovann.

“I strongly hope that the CNRP will win this election, that people will get back their land and that our land at the border lost to the neighbouring country will also be taken back.”
In the car following Rainsy’s, Cambodians who had flocked in from the US and France to help the party during the campaign said they had little doubt the CNRP would win, should elections be free and fair.

“I’m strongly hoping we’re going to win and we’re going to change the country,” said Sovin David, a party member who has spent the past 18 years in France. “If they win, I’m not going back.”

“It’s been almost 30 years… Now it’s time for real democracy. Bring back Sam Rainsy!”

While the Ministry of Interior promised hundreds of officers to secure Rainsy’s return, few were present past the gates of the airport, leaving the task of keeping order to perhaps thousands of volunteers.

Young men and women, arms linked in daisy chains, surrounded his pickup truck, keeping back surging crowds, while a contingent of private bodyguards kept watch from inside the truck bed.

Despite the lack of a visible surplus of officers, the daylong demonstration remained peaceful throughout, with just a single minor reported incident over the course of the entire day.

Even a handful of CPP supporters who braved the crowds were met with no more than the occasional verbal jeers.

Also notably absent from the parade were local media. As dozens of Cambodian and foreign journalists scrambled up and down Russian Boulevard, racing to rooftops for the best shot and hopping on and off trucks, broadcasters were nowhere to be seen.

The television channels – all of them dominated by government ties – showed no footage of the rally, while other media downplayed it. Local news site CEN, one of the chief breaking news outlets, numbered the crowd in the thousands.

Taking note of the absence, a wry supporter walked the length of the route toting a homemade, Styrofoam camera. Coated with CNRP logos, the camera sported the letters TVK - the name of the state broadcaster.

Resource from:

Fri, 19 July 2013

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/unprecedented-turnout-greets-rainsy

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Cambodia : Opposition leader Sam Rainsy pardoned

Cambodia : Opposition leader Sam Rainsy pardoned

King Norodom Sihamoni has signed a pardon for self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy requested by Prime Minister Hun Sen, paving the way for the Cambodia National Rescue Party president to return before the July 28 election, Prince Norodom Charin confirmed Friday.

"Everything is signed and sent, Sam Rainsy has the document," Prince Charin said.

Council of Minister's spokesman Phay Siphan confirmed on Friday that Hun Sen has signed off on the request to King Norodom Sihamoni that day.

"The prime minister signed this morning a supporting letter to request a royal pardon to Sam Rainsy," he said.

Siphan said Hun Sen had made the decision in the name of national reconciliation and stability.

Rainsy had been convicted of a series of criminal charges related to a dispute of Cambodia's border and defamatory comments he made about foreign affairs minister Hor Namhong.

Resource from:

 http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/opposition-leader-sam-rainsy-pardoned

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Cambodia : Tourism figures rise in first five months

Cambodia : Tourism figures rise 

in first five months

Some 1.8 million tourists arrived in Cambodia in the first five months of this year, a 20 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period in 2012, thanks largely to an regional influx of travellers.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the government-private sector tourism working group, said that tourism is taking off largely thanks to marketing, an environment of open trade, investment policies and solid diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries.

“It reflects the good cooperation and effort made by government and private sector in promoting Cambodia’s tourism sector,” Vandy said.

He added that the majority of foreign tourists are still from the countries in the region, accounting for about 60 per cent of the total.

According to official statistics, Vietnam led tourist arrivals during the period with about 340,000 visitors. South Korea followed with some 215,000, and China was third at around 132,000.

The Cambodian Development Research Institute says that tourism directly employs around employs 350,000 people. Last year, it brought about $2 billion into Cambodia’s economy.

There are signs that Cambodia’s tourism sector is diversifying to include beach and eco-tourism, and the development of Cambodia’s Islands is seen a new frontier for the industry.

“If the problem in Western economies improve, more and more tourists from there will be increasing as well,” Vandy said.

Resource from:

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/tourism-figures-rise-first-five-months

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Cambodia : Competition could hurt SME future

Cambodia : Competition could hurt SME future

Due to a lack of awareness and human resources, small and medium enterprise owners could suffer from competition as ASEAN moves toward economic integration, industry insiders say. 

Chan Virath, an organiser of a career forum over the weekend, said that most small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, in Cambodia still lack business strategies.  

“Even though we have tried to call and invite them to join the event, nobody was interested in the program,” Virath said. “Most of them are family operated and do not understand the advantage of an enhanced brand or recruiting quality human resource.”

SMEs are playing increasingly important role in Cambodia as engines of economic growth. Nguon Meng Tech, director general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, said that SMEs also provide job opportunities for low-cost workers.

SMEs operate almost entirely in the unregistered, informal sector, according to the Federation of Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia.

Resource from:

By Hor Kimsay

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062566452/Business/competition-could-hurt-sme-future.html

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Cambodia:กัมพูชารุ่งเป็น ประเทศรายได้ปานกลาง

Cambodia:กัมพูชารุ่งเป็น ประเทศรายได้ปานกลาง

เอเจนซ์ กัมปูเจีย เพรส ระบุว่า กัมพูชาขยับจากประเทศที่มีรายได้ต่ำ เป็นประเทศที่มีรายได้ปานกลางแล้ว เนื่องจากดัชนีทางเศรษฐกิจเติบโตสูงในช่วง 20 ปีที่ผ่านมา ทั้งนี้ รัฐมนตรีกระทรวงการคลังและเศรษฐกิจกัมพูชา กล่าวว่า เศรษฐกิจของประเทศที่โตขึ้น ลดความยากจนได้เฉลี่ย 4.5% ต่อปี ตลอดช่วง 8 ปีที่ผ่านมา ด้านสมเด็จฮุน เซน นายกรัฐมนตรีกัมพูชา กล่าวว่า ขณะนี้กัมพูชาเป็นหนึ่งในบรรดาประเทศรายได้ปานกลางระดับล่าง ที่คาดว่าจะขึ้นมาเป็นประเทศรายได้ปานกลางระดับสูง และประเทศพัฒนาแล้ว ในปี 2573 และ 2593 ตามลำดับ

Resource from:

http://www.prachachat.net/news_detail.php?newsid=1371208690

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Riot in Cambodia : BOEUNG KAK AND BOREI KEILA ACTIVISTS CLASH WITH RIOT

RIOT IN CAMBODIA : BOEUNG KAK AND BOREI KEILA ACTIVISTS CLASH WITH RIOT

About 70 female activists from three communities clashed with police officers on 22 April 2013 in yet another protest outside Prime Minister Hun Sen's home in Phnom Penh.

From the cambodian riot police officer fires tear gas at residents during clashes that erupted amidst a forced eviction at the Borei Keila complex in Phnom Penh January 3, 2012.

 Local human rights group Licadho said that police officers and residents were injured in a face-off when hundreds of armed authorities tried to evict families from their homes in a long running dispute with a local real estate firm well-connected with the government. The firm, Phanimex, plans to convert the residential complex into a commercial building. Licadho said that at least 12 people had also been detained following the violent clashes. 

Resource From:

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

REUTERS/Samrang Pring

http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2012/01/savagery-and-violence-by-phnom-penh.html

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