Cambodia - Election 2023
Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihamoni with a parliamentary government; however, having banned the main opposition party in 2017, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party won all 125 National Assembly seats in the 2018 national election, turning the country into a de facto one-party state with a government that regularly acts in an authoritarian manner. The prime minister since 1985, Hun Sen, remained in office. International observers, including foreign governments and international and domestic nongovernmental organizations, criticized the election as neither free nor fair and not representative of the will of the people.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; arbitrary detention by the government; political prisoners and detainees; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary interference in the private lives of citizens, including pervasive electronic media surveillance; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, including violence and threats of violence, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, criminal libel laws, and censorship; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; serious restrictions on political participation; serious and pervasive government corruption, including in the judiciary; serious government restrictions on or harassment of domestic or international human rights organizations; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence; trafficking in persons; significant restrictions on workers’ freedom of association; and the worst forms of child labor, including forced or compulsory child labor.
NGOs and detainees reported that military and police officials used physical and psychological abuse and occasionally severely beat detainees and protesters, including during interrogation. Victims rarely reported such violence to NGOs until they were released from detention. Although the law allows for investigations into accusations of government abuse, cases were pursued only when there was a public outcry or when they drew the prime minister’s attention. If abuse cases came to trial, presiding judges usually passed down verdicts based only on written reports from police and witness testimony. In general, police received little professional training on protecting or respecting human rights.
Prison conditions remained harsh and in many cases life threatening. Gross overcrowding was a problem. The country’s 28 prisons are designed to hold a maximum of 11,000 prisoners; as of October they held 38,050. Kampot and Kandal prisons were the two most overcrowded, at more than 400 percent over their capacity. Allowances for food and other necessities were often inadequate. Some prisoners reported that they had to borrow money from prison staff to buy adequate food. Family members often provided necessities, at least in part, and sometimes had to pay a bribe to do so.
The government continued to use regularly the arbitrary charge of “incitement”, using the law to levy criminal charges against political opposition leaders and their supporters, labor and environmental activists, and citizens who make politically sensitive comments, including unflattering comments about senior government officials as well as social media posts regarding the border with Vietnam, the government’s COVID-19 response, relations with China, and support for opposition party members.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem particularly in politically motivated prosecutions, and in some cases the time spent in pretrial detention was longer than the minimum sentence for the offense. A human rights NGO reported in 2022 there were 22,093 pretrial detainees, representing 71 percent of all prisoners, in 19 of the country’s 28 prisons and correction centers; the total number of pretrial detainees was likely higher. In cases of “incitement,” individuals were not usually granted bail, according to reports; most “incitement” suspects in the country were held in pretrial detention until the end of their trial, almost always beyond the statutory minimum sentence of six months.
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but the government did not respect judicial independence, exerting extensive political control over the courts. Court decisions were often subject to political influence. Judicial officials, up to and including the chief of the Supreme Court, simultaneously held positions in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), and observers alleged only those with strong ties to the CPP or personal relationships with senior officials received judicial appointments. Corruption among judges, prosecutors, and court officials was widespread. The judicial branch was inefficient and could not assure due process or fair trials. At times the outcome of trials appeared predetermined.
The government, military, and ruling party owned or otherwise influenced most newspapers and broadcast media; there were few significant independent sources for news. Although the law prohibits censorship and no formal censorship system existed, the government used other means to censor media, most notably through its control of permits and licenses for journalists and media outlets not controlled directly by the government or the CPP. Private media admitted to practicing self-censorship, in part from fear of government reprisal.
The law criminalizes expression that libels or slanders the monarch and prohibits publishers and editors from disseminating stories that insult or defame the king, government leaders, or public institutions. The government used the law to restrict public discussion on topics it deemed sensitive or against its interests. The government continued to cite “national security” concerns to justify restricting and prosecuting critics of government policies and officials.
The law gives the government legal authority to monitor all telephone conversations, text messages, email, social media activity, and correspondence between individuals without their consent or a warrant. Any opinions expressed in these exchanges that the government deemed to impinge on its definition of national security could result in a maximum 15 years’ imprisonment.
The government has the authority to shut down any social media page or website that publishes information leading to “turmoil in the society that [might] undermine national defense, national security, national relations with other countries, the economy, social order, discrimination, or national culture or tradition.”
Although the constitution provides citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage, there was no such ability. By law the government may dissolve parties and ban individuals from party leadership positions and political life more broadly. The law also bars parties from using any audio, visual, or written material from a person convicted of a crime. Under the National Election Committee code of conduct, journalists may be fined if they “disrupt election processes,” interview any voter inside a polling station, or publish news that could affect “political stability” or cause the public to lose confidence in the election.
The most recent national election occurred in 2018. Although 20 political parties participated, the largest opposition party, the CNRP, was excluded. NGOs and independent observers noted that 16 of the 19 non-CPP parties that competed in the election were CPP proxies. Most independent analysts considered the election seriously flawed.
The country held local (commune) elections in June 2022. Although 17 political parties participated, the only independent opposition party with substantial support was the reconstituted Candlelight Party (CLP). The ruling CPP won approximately 80 percent of commune council seats; the Candlelight Party won roughly 19 percent.
Prior to the election, the National Election Committee (NEC) blocked nearly 150 CLP candidates from running, citing illiteracy and other disqualifying conditions. Most independent analysts considered the local elections to be seriously flawed, despite high voter turnout. There were reports of irregularities on election day, including the presence of security personnel and local officials in or near polling places, irregular ballot counting procedures, and improper restrictions on election observers.
Although campaign laws require news outlets to give equal coverage to each party participating in an election, there was no evidence of the law’s enforcement during the June commune election or the 2018 national election; news outlets gave significantly greater coverage to the CPP than to other parties. In view of the decline in independent media outlets, government-controlled news outlets dominated coverage prior to the election. This was particularly true in rural areas, where independent media were very weak.
Independent political parties suffered from legalized discrimination, selective enforcement of the law, intimidation, and biased media coverage. These factors contributed significantly to the CPP’s effective monopolization of political power. Most government positions were available only to CPP members. According to a local human rights NGO, from January to April there were 65 reported cases of political suppression in 15 provinces, 95 percent of which targeted the CLP. In one example, a village chief in Kampong Cham Province forced two CLP communal election candidates to defect to the ruling party to retain their social security benefits and monthly COVID-19 allowance.
In February 2022 the king (at the behest of the government) granted political “rehabilitation” to three more opposition officials (in addition to 29 in 2021) who were among 118 persons banned from all political activity after the Supreme Court dissolved the party in 2017. The government rejected political rehabilitation for four former CNRP officials without citing a legal reason. In November a ban on all 118 opposition members expired, but many of them faced new politically motivated criminal charges that would similarly limit their political activity, if convicted. According to the Cambodian Journalists Alliance, five journalists were harassed by local authorities while covering June 5 commune elections.
On October 26, the prime minister threatened to dissolve the opposition Candlelight Party unless it condemned exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s comments critical of the king. Prime Minister Hun Sen stated in August 2021 that he would not restore any politician’s political rights unless he was “pleased.” Local experts and opposition party members complained the “rehabilitation” process was arbitrary, created a false appearance of wrongdoing on the part of the banned politicians, and allowed the prime minister to choose his own political opponents. The CPP dominated all levels of government from village and provincial councils to the National Assembly. In 2020 Hun Sen repeatedly stated that CNRP leader Kem Sokha’s trial may not be resolved until 2024 (see also section 1.e.); during the trial he is barred from any “political activity.”
By May 2023 it appeared that Cambodia’s main opposition Candlelight Party may not be allowed to compete in July’s general elections after the Ministry of Interior is refusing to reissue a registration certificate. If the Candlelight Party is barred from the July 23 vote, it almost certainly means that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodia’s People’s Party will waltz to victory, continuing his iron grip on power since he became prime minister in 1985.
The Candlelight Party submitted its application, along with other parties, to run in the election on May 6, two days before the deadline, and the Interior Ministry has submitted a statement to the National Election Committee confirming the party’s registration. But the commission says it needs the more formal certificate dating back from 1998, when it first registered itself,
That certificate, however, was lost when the offices of the Cambodia National Rescue Party – the previous main opposition party – were raided by government agents in 2017. The Candlelight Party, founded by Sam Rainsy in 1995, was a part of the opposition camp at that time. And the Interior Ministry has refused to re-issue a registration certificate.
Cambodians headed to the polls on 23 July 2023 for the country's general election. But with an absence of a strong opposition party and amid a crackdown on the free press, there was little doubt about the outcome. Eighteen political parties started campaigning on July 1 for the first general assembly vote in five years. Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party was guaranteed a landslide victory given the political landscape.
Cambodia emerged from a decades-long civil war and became a democratic nation in the 1990's. But Hun Sen clung to power for decades with an iron fist. In the previous election in 2018, the biggest opposition party at the time, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was forced to dissolve by a court decision ahead of the vote. The ruling Cambodian People's Party ended up taking all 125 seats in the assembly.
Opposition parties called on the public to boycott Sunday's vote, but authorities warn that any such moves could be punished. The leader of the largest opposition Candlelight Party says the international community should get involved and act to preserve democracy in the country. Teav Vannol said to NHK during the campaign that the exclusion of the largest opposition party seems to be "killing democracy" in Cambodia. He called on Japan to intervene so that the country can "return to democracy."
Cambodian news outlets are also finding themselves losing their voice as authorities intensify a crackdown on the media. According to a local journalism association, more than 50 reporters critical of the government faced harassment, including intimidation and even imprisonment. Voice of Democracy, or VOD, is one of Cambodia's last remaining independent news outlets. It frequently covers human rights issues and corruption. The government suspended VOD's media license in February 2023 after it published a story on the prime minister's oldest son and Cambodia's army chief, Hun Manet.
Hun Manet is running for a seat in the general assembly for the first time. Hun Sen has called on supporters to vote for his son, who is widely expected to seek the office of prime minister following his father.
Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party reportedly scooped up 120 of the 125 National Assembly seats. After the election, the leader said that legal action will be taken against those who called on people to boycott the poll or cast invalid votes. The prime minister defended the election. He also said that voter turnout exceeded 84 percent. He mentioned calls made by opposition party officials to cast invalid votes or boycott the poll. Hun Sen said he is waiting to see how many invalid votes will be counted. He urged those who made such calls to turn themselves in.
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