Cambodian opposition claims 1.3 million voters unable to vote on general election

President of National Rescue Party Sam Rainsy, center, gives a speech during an attending a public forum on the topic of the election of July 28, at their party's office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, July 31, 2013. (Photo : AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Leaders of Cambodia’s main opposition party reiterated Wednesday that they did not recognize the results of Sunday’s general election, in which the ruling party of longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen won a slim majority. According to the initial unofficial results, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Hun Sen won the victory with 68 parliamentary seats and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) got the remaining 55 seats in the poll.

“We don’t agree to accept the failure in the poll, we have to win,” said Kem Sokha, CNRP’s vice president, speaking to hundreds of supporters rallied at the party’s headquarters in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. “The election had a lot of irregularities and ballot-rigging.”

At the event, CNRP’s president Sam Rainsy claimed that about 1. 3 million voters were unable to vote because their names were not on the voter lists. “If those people had voted for the CNRP, we would win easily because the ruling CPP won us only 200,000 votes on the Sunday election,” he said.

In addition, Rainsy said there were about 1 million ghost names on the voter lists and about 200,000 duplicate names. “These are the irregularities. The CNRP has to find justice for Cambodian people,” he said, calling for Prime Minister Hun Sen to step down.

On Tuesday, Rainsy officially submitted a request to the National Election Committee (NEC) to demand for the establishment of a joint committee to investigate irregularities during the election. He has also threatened to stage a nationwide protest against the poll results if a joint committee is not established to look into the irregularity allegations, but no protest date has been set yet.

The NEC has not replied to Rainsy’s request so far. Despite winning the victory in Sunday’s election, the results are a blow to the ruling CPP as its parliamentary seats has dropped from 90 seats in the election in 2008 to 68 seats in Sunday’s poll, while the opposition CNRP’s seats have seen a dramatic rise from 29 seats to 55 seats in Sunday’s election.

Incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power for 28 years, will stretch his power for further five years through the Sunday’s victory. Hun Sen has not made any statement or appeared at any public event since the election.

His party issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that “the CPP won absolute majority seats in the Sunday’s poll so that the party could establish a new government in accordance with the constitution and Hun Sen will continue to serve as the Prime Minister in the fifth term government.”

However, there will still be a challenge for the CPP to form a new government if the opposition boycotts the first session of the new National Assembly. According to the constitution, a quorum of at least 120 out of 123 lawmakers is needed in parliament to approve a new cabinet.

The first session of the new National Assembly will be convened in no later than 60 days after the election, according to the constitution. Despite the opposition party’s rejection, foreign leaders have extended their congratulations to Hun Sen for the triumph.

“On behalf of the government and the people of Bangladesh, it is my great pleasure to convey heartiest felicitations on your party’s resounding victory in the National Assembly elections,” Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina said in a message to Hun Sen on Monday.

She said Bangladesh and Cambodia enjoyed excellent bilateral ties based on longstanding friendship and cooperation, and she looked forward to closely working with Hun Sen for further deepening the bilateral relations for the mutual benefits.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said in a message to Hun Sen on Tuesday that she was confident that under Hun Sen’s leadership, Cambodia would continue to prosper and overcome any challenge that might lie ahead. “I am confident that under your guidance, our bilateral relations will be further advanced for the mutual prosperity and benefits of our two peoples and countries,” she said. <Xinhua/NEWSis>