Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1993
1993
Electoral violence continued and the PDK violated the ceasefire agreement. Political parties were violating electoral law. According to a UN source cited in a Reuters report, more than a dozen leading politicians, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, were sent warning letters by UNTAC earlier in the month threatening to end their candidacies if they continued to violate electoral laws.1 The Constituent Assembly elections took place from May 23 to 28, 1993. “Mr Yasushi Akashi, head of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), yesterday (May 20, 1993) described the just-concluded election campaign as a “success” despite reports of political slayings in outlying provinces. Speaking at the last meeting of Cambodia’s Supreme National Council (SNC) before the May 23-28 elections, he said the 43-day canvassing period had been conducted properly, with “remarkably little campaign-related violence”. He said that more than 800,000 people attended about 1,500 rallies without a single major incident of violence” (The Straits Times, 1993).2