PM ridicules SRP defections

Prime Minister Hun Sen cuts a ribbon during the opening of a new building for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction yesterday in Phnom Penh.

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday mocked the recent defections and resignations of opposition Sam Rainsy Party members and called it proof it was impossible for the SRP to ever rule the Kingdom.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning & Construction building in Phnom Penh yesterday, the premier warned that any change of government would necessarily entail loss of citizens’ lives.

“Now wait to see Egypt, [you] suppose it is finished, people die more than before. Libya, [you] suppose it is finished…[It has changed] but not according to the goal,” Hun Sen said.

SRP accuses ruling CPP of election vote-buying

In the wake of what the opposition Sam Rainsy Party has called unprecedented gains in the senate election, the party has said that “virtually every SRP councillor” was approached by ruling Cambodian People’s Party officials attempting to buy their vote in the election, a party statement issued yesterday said.

The statement said that in Kandal province, where Prime Minister Hun Sen lives and votes, SRP councillors were offered US$5,000 a vote to swing their support to the CPP.

“Many forms of intimidation were also used to frighten the opposition into voting for the CPP,” the statement said, adding that “virtually every SRP councillor in all provinces was approached by CPP officials and offered between $500 and $5,000 to sell their votes to the ruling party”.

Cambodian Senate resembles French, Indian upper houses in reflecting will of the people

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - As Cambodians prepare to digest the release of the final results in last weekend's Senate elections, they should at least feel comfortable with the knowledge that the body that convened its first meeting in 1999 is one of the more democratic upper houses of parliament in the world today. Final results were due Sunday but have been delayed amid complaints from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

At first glance, the upper house of the Cambodian parliament resembles the Senate in France. But the combination of indirect elections for the majority of senators and the appointment of a small minority makes the Cambodian Senate more like the upper house of parliament in India, widely described as the world's biggest democracy. Interestingly, Myanmar has chosen a similar model for its new upper house of parliament, although the minority appointed (by the military) is proportionally much bigger.

Thwarted vote buyer wants compensation

A ruling party member caught vote-buying on tape told a court hearing yesterday he should be compensated by the man he attempted to bribe because he recorded their conversation. 

On January 23, the Battambang Provincial Election Commission fined Cambodian People’s Party member Cheam Pe A $US1,230 for attempting to buy Sam Rainsy Party commune councillor Mok Ra’s vote in Senate elections the following Sunday. 

As a plaintiff, Cheam Pe A told Battambang Provincial Court yesterday that Mok Ra had broken the law by recording him offering the $700 bribe and asked for 10 million riel (US$2,475) in compensation. 

Court has not yet taken action to restore Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - Phnom Penh Municipal Court has not yet take action to restore the parliamentary immunity of opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun said Wednesday.

He said there were many rules to follow to restore parliamentary immunity and suggested that Mu Sochua should read them before filing such a request.

Sam Pracheameanith, chief of cabinet at Ministry of Justice, said he hadn’t seen the file.

Cheam Yeap, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, said the parliament was waiting for a letter from the ministry to discuss the issue even though it is currently in recess.

Mu Sochua lost her immunity after losing a court case against Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2009.

I’ve won already, says PM

Prime Minister Hun Sen casts his vote on Sunday in Phnom Penh for the national senate election. The Prime Minister is confident of the outcome.

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday that at least one element of the 2013 National Assembly election is a foregone conclusion – he will still be in charge when it’s over.

Speaking only three days after his party won control of the Senate for the third time in a row, the premier said yesterday that there is no chance he will be displaced as prime minister, given the fact that he is the only candidate.

“Don’t worry; the opposition party has no possibility of breaking [the Cambodian People’s Party],” he told a crowd at a ground-breaking ceremony inaugurating national road 76 in Ratanakkiri. 

“At that time, who will be a Minister of Public Works? [We] don’t know yet, but the only candidate for prime minister is me.”

The premier also expressed his thanks to 797 members of Funcinpec, the Norodom Rannaridh Party and the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, who voted for the CPP at Sunday’s Senate election, including 179 councilors from the SRP.

SRP says vote-buying fine not nearly enough

Meas Sokchea 

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

A Cambodian People’s Party member found guilty of attempted vote-buying in last Monday’s Senate election had been let off too lightly with a fine and should face legal action, an opposition Sam Rainsy Party councillor said yesterday.

At a hearing of the Battambang Provincial Election Commission last week, CPP member Cheam Pe A was fined US$1,230 after he was caught on tape offering SRP Tuol Ta Ek commune councillor Mok Ra $700 to cast his vote for the ruling party.