The Manila Times

Cambodian party loses bid to overturn poll ban

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s top opposition party was barred on Thursday from participating in elections set for July after the country’s Constitutional Council refused to overturn a decision not to register the party over a paperwork issue.

The Candlelight Party, the sole credible challenger to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in the upcoming polls, lost its appeal because its complaint was deemed unlawful, the council said in a brief statement. The decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Cambodian courts are widely considered to be under the influence of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government and his CPP.

The National Election Committee on May 16 refused to register the Candlelight Party, saying it failed to provide necessary documents. A few days later, the party officially filed an appeal with the Constitutional Council asking it to overturn the panel’s ruling.

Candlelight Party spokesman Kimsour Phirith said he “regretted” Thursday’s decision since it denied the party’s supporters nationwide from being able to vote for their preferred candidates.

“The absence of the (Candlelight Party) from the election means the voices of the people are dismissed. Such a move would never occur in a real democratic country,” Kimsour Phirith added.

Eighteen political parties are registered and recognized by the election committee, including the CPP.

The ruling party has held an iron grip on power for decades and controls almost every level of government. Hun Sen, 70, an authoritarian ruler in a nominally democratic state, has held his position for 38 years. His eldest son, army chief Hun Manet, is widely expected to replace his father as prime minister after the polls.

The Candlelight Party is the unofficial successor to the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which threatened to present a serious challenge to Hun Sen’s party in the 2018 elections. But it was dissolved just months ahead of the polls by a controversial court ruling that said it had plotted to overthrow the government.

That party’s disbanding enabled the CPP to win all the seats in the National Assembly. Western nations declared the election as neither free nor fair, and imposed mild economic sanctions in response.

About Y.7 million Cambodians are registered to vote in the July 23 elections for the 125-seat assembly.

With the Candlelight Party barred from taking part in the election, the sole competition for the governing party will be groups aligned with it, or small, obscure parties without a national presence.

Hun Sen and the CPP are certain to easily top the polls, holding all the advantages of incumbency. They are dominant in terms of nationwide organizing, personnel, finances and influence with the mass media.

Asia And Oceania

en-ph

2023-05-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/article/281831468104054

The Manila Times