The National Assembly’s (NA) Commission on Legislation and Justice on June 20 endorsed a draft amendment to the election law, with no changes deemed necessary. The draft is likely to be reviewed and passed during the NA’s next plenary session, scheduled for June 23.
The move followed a social media campaign by several self-exiled opposition figures, who called on voters to spoil their ballot papers, or not vote at all, during the upcoming July 23 general election.
In response to their campaign, Prime Minister Hun Sen urged relevant bodies to look into amending the election law. He opined that only those who participate in the democratic process by voting should be eligible to stand as future candidates.
A July 20 NA press release said the legislation and justice commission, headed by Pen Panha, had endorsed the draft law following its meeting with a government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, with Minister of Justice Koeut Rith also in attendance.
Sar Kheng explained to the commission that the proposed law would require Cambodian citizens to fulfil certain conditions in order to be eligible for standing as election candidates, both at the national and sub-national levels.
“To fulfil our goal of maintaining multi-party democratic principles, we need to ensure that we have good leaders. Citizens who stand for election must not only fulfil the conditions stated in the Constitution and other Cambodian laws, but must also be responsible participants in our democracy,” he said.
He added that it was due to this principle that the government had requested the amendment.
“Citizens who wish to stand as candidates for elections must demonstrate their responsibility for the motherland and the people by showing that they have exercised their democratic right to vote. This is one of the main duties of all responsible citizens in a democratic society,” he explained.
“If you have not fulfilled your civic duty at any election organised by the National Election Committee [NEC], and cannot offer a reasonable explanation, you should not be regarded as the kind of upstanding citizen who is suited to standing for an official role,” he added.
According to the proposed amendment, any individual who commits any act that affects any other person’s right to vote or interrupts the electoral process will be temporally deprived of their right to stand for election. The individual will also be banned from voting.
Sar Kheng stressed, however, that this amendment is in line with the country’s supreme laws and does not conflict with the Cambodian people’s basic rights to vote.
“The commission will request that the NA Permanent Standing Committee include the proposed amendment in their future agenda, and have suggested they consider it an urgent matter,” said commission head Panha, as he endorsed the amendment.
Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of the NGO Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), opined on June 20 that with this endorsement by the commission, a passage of the amendment by the NA plenary session is a foregone conclusion.
“I will wait and see whether any lawmakers will stand up to support or oppose it during the NA plenary session, or whether they will just raise their hands and approve it,” he said.
Speaking at a June 19 evaluation meeting of the government working groups for the sixth mandate, Hun Sen explained that the amendment does not affect the rights of voters or future candidates, but simply lays out measures that protect the democratic process. This will ensure that democracy in Cambodia cannot be subverted or destroyed by any group, he added.
He warned that even after the draft amendment is passed, extremist groups may still look for ways to cause chaos and destabilise the Kingdom.
“The government will not pardon any individual who intentionally attempts to sabotage democracy in Cambodia,” he said.
