Related News
Cambodian opposition to plan more street protests
Print Edition
Cambodia’s opposition said yesterday that it would boycott the opening session of parliament and carry out more street protests even though the election victory of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party has now been officially ratified.
Sam Rainsy, leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, said his party would not take part in any form of government as a matter of principle until there was an independent investigation of alleged election irregularities.
Earlier yesterday, the government-appointed National Election Committee ratified results giving Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party 68 seats in the National Assembly, and the opposition party 55.
Parliament has to convene within 60 days of the July 28 election.
Sam Rainsy said the opposition would hold continuous public demonstrations from September 15-17, which might include rallies or marches, to press its demand for a probe.
Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for 28 years and remains in control. But the opposition won more seats than before.
The opposition has claimed it would have won the majority of seats had the election been fair, but its legal challenges were rejected. About 20,000 opposition supporters gathered Saturday in Phnom Penh, the capital, to cheer their leaders’ demands for an investigation of what their leaders said was vote tampering and widespread voter disenfranchisement.
“As long as the ruling party does not accept the truth to be exposed, and does not accept to render justice to the Cambodian people through voting, we will not participate in any form of government or any form of arrangement with the ruling party, because it is a matter of principle,” Sam Rainsy said yesterday. “We’re never going to compromise our principles.”
He suggested that if Hun Sen’s party proceeded to rule with a single-party parliament and no probe of the election results, it would be rejected by both the Cambodian people and the international community, so that “Cambodia will be really headed for trouble, for instability ...”
It was not clear how long a boycott of parliament would last. Deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha said it would apply to the opening day of the new National Assembly, while Sam Rainsy’s remarks implied it would be open-ended.
A boycott could mean the opposition loses out on parliamentary leadership positions.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
