This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/world/asia/cambodian-opposition-rejects-election-results.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Cambodian Opposition Rejects Election Results Cambodian Opposition Rejects Election Results
(about 7 hours later)
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia faced a volatile and possibly prolonged political standoff on Monday after leaders of the opposition said they rejected the preliminary results of the election Sunday and accused the authoritarian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen of large-scale cheating. PHNOM PENH — Cambodia faces a volatile and possibly prolonged political standoff after leaders of the opposition said Monday that they rejected the preliminary results of Sunday’s election and accused the authoritarian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen of large-scale cheating to achieve a relatively narrow victory.
“We will not accept the result we cannot accept the result,” Sam Rainsy, leader of the newly energized opposition, said Monday at a news conference. “The party in power cannot ignore us any more.” With a number of monitoring organizations describing widespread voting irregularities, Sam Rainsy, the leader of the newly energized opposition, said at a news conference that the party would seek help from foreign and Cambodian election experts to decide whether to call for a recount or fresh elections.
The governing Cambodian People’s Party issued a statement late on Sunday saying that preliminary results “clearly showed that the Cambodian People’s Party won a victory” and that the party had sufficient numbers to establish a new government. “We will not accept the result we cannot accept the result," he said. "The party in power cannot ignore us anymore.”
The country’s information minister on Sunday said that the governing party had won 55 percent of the seats in the National Assembly a relatively narrow victory and down from 73 percent of the seats in the last election, in 2008. He had initially announced a victory after the polls closed Sunday but then retracted his claim.
Mr. Rainsy had initially claimed victory after polls closed Sunday, but then retracted his claim. Mr. Hun Sen’s party, the Cambodian People’s Party, issued a statement late Sunday saying that preliminary results "clearly showed" that it had "won a victory," and that the party had sufficient numbers to establish a new government.
The opposition’s announcement on Monday that it would contest the results was partly motivated by calculations that cheating may have denied them victory, said Kem Sokha, the vice president of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party. But the results were the poorest showing for the governing party since 1998. The Cambodian People’s Party won 55 percent of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, according to the party’s Web site a relatively narrow victory, and down from 73 percent of the seats in the last election, in 2008. Analysts said turnout was about 70 percent.
“We have a chance to win,” Mr. Kem Sokha, said. “It’s never been this close in our history.” Mr. Hun Sen, 60, has been in power for 28 years, and the election Sunday was one of the most closely contested of his career.
Mr. Hun Sen, 60, has been in power for 28 years and the election Sunday was one of the most closely contested of his career. Kem Sokha, the vice president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, said an opposition victory was still possible.
Mr. Kem Sokha appeared to issue a veiled threat to the government, saying he feared that “Cambodian people who don’t like the result will rise up and make chaos.” “We have a chance to win,” Mr. Kem Sokha said. "It’s never been this close in our history.”
The governing party’s statement on Sunday included an “appeal to all Cambodians to keep calm, maintain stability, security and good social order.” The opposition made a similar appeal for calm on Sunday. He appeared to issue a veiled threat to the government, saying he feared that "Cambodian people who don’t like the result will rise up and make chaos.”
The Cambodia National Rescue Party was founded last year through a merger with Mr. Rainsy’s party and has given the opposition a unified voice. It also effectively means that Cambodia has a two-party system for the first time since multiparty democracy was restored in the 1990s. The governing party’s statement Sunday included an "appeal to all Cambodians to keep calm, maintain stability, security and good social order." The opposition made a similar appeal for calm on Sunday after two police trucks were destroyed by protesters.
Mr. Rainsy called for a special committee to be formed to adjudicate the election. He proposed that the committee include members of both parties as well as independent election observers, both Cambodian and foreign. Phnom Penh was quiet on Monday, but some streets were shut by security forces, including the one leading to Mr. Hun Sen’s residence. The opposition won a majority of the votes in the capital, according to the preliminary results.
A number of organizations monitoring the election have described widespread problems. The Cambodia National Rescue Party was founded last year through a merger of Mr. Sam Rainsy’s party named for him and another group, and it has given the opposition a unified voice. It also effectively means that Cambodia has a two-party system for the first time since multiparty democracy was restored in the 1990s.
“We acknowledge that there were irregularities,” said Thun Saray, the president of the board of directors of Comfrel, a Cambodian election monitoring organization. Mr. Thun Saray said there were many reports of duplicates in the voter rolls that appeared to have allowed more than one vote per person. Mr. Sam Rainsy, who said the party had calculated that 1.2 million to 1.3 million would-be voters had been omitted from voter rolls, called for the creation of a special committee to deal with irregularities and to decide whether new balloting or recounting was necessary. He proposed that the committee include members of both parties, as well as independent election observers, both Cambodian and foreign, and that the committee finish its work before Aug. 31.
Because of a stipulation in the Constitution that mandates a minimum presence in the National Assembly, the governing party would not be able to form a new government without the cooperation of the opposition, said Sok Sam Oeun, the executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, a charity that provides legal aid to the poor. “We acknowledge that there were irregularities,” said Thun Saray, the president of the board of directors of Comfrel, a Cambodian election monitoring organization. He said there were many reports of duplicates in the voter rolls that appeared to have allowed more than one vote per person.
“The ball is in the opposition’s court,” he said. A survey by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, an American organization that promotes elections, found that at 60 percent of polling stations, citizens with adequate, valid documentation were turned away. And in a quarter of the polling stations, people were allowed to vote without a valid ID.
“The overall picture is both disenfranchisement, illegal voting and sporadic chaos at the polls," said Laura Thornton, the head of the institute’s Cambodia office. "There needs to be an independent investigation into these irregularities." She described the opposition’s proposal for a committee to investigate the election results as "reasonable.”
But analysts were also waiting for clearer signals from Mr. Hun Sen, who was keeping a low profile on Monday.
To his supporters, Mr. Hun Sen is a benefactor who has brought stability to the country. With help from the Vietnamese in 1979, he helped drive out the Khmer Rouge, whose genocidal policies led to the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians. But after the withdrawal of the Vietnamese and United Nations-backed elections in 1993, Mr. Hun Sen accumulated unrivaled power and authority. Partly through effective control of the Khmer-language news media and the co-opting of the police, the army and business elites, his party has won every election since 1998.

Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting.

Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting.