Electoral/Political Party Reform: Framework for a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict

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Electoral/Political Party Reform: Framework for a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict

Implementations

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1991

Political party reform began before the signing of the Paris peace agreement. On October 18, 1991, the ruling party in Cambodia, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), declared a formal end to more than 13 years of communism, replacing its president and embracing multiparty democracy and a free-market system.1 This could be coded as political party reform.

  1. “Cambodians officially end communism,” The Globe and Mail (Canada), October 19, 1991.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1992

In the Supreme National Council (SNC) meeting, it was unanimously decided that only Cambodians had the right to take part in the electoral process. It was decided that appropriate amendments to the draft electoral law would be drafted in accordance with the above proposals and would be discussed in the Technical Consultative Committee.1

According to a BBC News report (1992),2 a draft of the electoral law was presented to the Supreme National Council on April 1, 1992 with the following amendments–

”The right to register to vote at the election is granted to every Cambodian person who is of, or over, the age of 18 years or will attain that age during the period of registration.”

A Cambodian person is defined as

– a person born in Cambodia, with a mother or father born in Cambodia,
– a person born outside of Cambodia, with a mother (or father born) in Cambodia whose mother or father was also born in Cambodia.

”The symbol of a political party cannot be accepted for registration if it contains a portrait of His Royal Highness Prince Norodom Sihanouk”.

”Voting facilities for overseas voters are to be provided at one polling station in Europe, one in North America and one in Australia. Registration of voters is to take place exclusively in Cambodia”.

”The election campaign period is to start on the day that the (chief) electoral officer publishes the final list of registered parties and ends four days before the start of polling”.

”Any omission which would be an offence if committed during the campaign period shall also be an offence if committed before or after the campaign”.

Parties to the conflict did not agree on the amendments to the electoral law during the August 5, 1992 meeting of the SNC. Yasushi Akashi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cambodia, used his power as stated in Annex 1, Part D, Paragraph 3A and adopted the law. The electoral law adopted a formula to provide voting rights to Cambodians, as had been stipulated in the 1954 Cambodian Civil Code. The law required that the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) prepare elections for Cambodians living abroad, prohibited the use of HRH Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s picture as the symbol of a party on the ballots, and also permitted amendments of the bill in accordance with the situation.3 The Party of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK) opposed the draft law on the grounds that it would give voting rights to the Vietnamese.

This could be coded as reform in electoral law.

The registration of voters was to start on October 5, 1992, and 16 parties were expected to be provisionally registered.

  1. “Communique on 10th June Supreme National Council Meeting,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 16, 1992.
  2. “UNTAC; The Elections; The Peace Process,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, August 20, 1992.
  3. “Communique on 5th August SNC Meeting,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, August 15, 1992.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 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

  1. “Election campaign a success, says UNTAC chief,” The Straits Times, May 21, 1993.
  2. Ibid.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1995

No further developments observed.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1996

No further developments observed.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1997

No further developments observed.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1998

No further developments observed.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1999

No further developments observed.

Electoral/Political Party Reform – 2000

No further developments observed.