CAMBODIA ELECTIONS: CAMPAIGN SEASON SNAPSHOT FROM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000602 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL, USAID FOR ASIA BUREAU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM CB SUBJECT: CAMBODIA ELECTIONS: CAMPAIGN SEASON SNAPSHOT FROM THE CAPITAL REF: A. PHNOM PENH 565 ¶B. PHNOM PENH 575 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Emboffs' pre-election monitoring trip in and around the capital of Phnom Penh revealed a campaign process that is generally running smoothly (particularly when compared to previous elections) and with very few official complaints logged to date. While the Election Committees and at least one commune chief painted a rosy picture of the election climate and the opening of political space, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party unsurprisingly remains concerned about several alleged, anticipated, or unspecified abuses and irregularities, including intimidation of voters and party agents and irregularities in use of identification documents. END SUMMARY. Fewer Complaints But Some Concerns -------------- ¶2. (U) Emboffs paid a visit to the capital's Provincial Election Committee (PEC),where Mr. Lon Chheng Kay, Chairman of the PEC, explained the process for resolving the five official campaign complaints filed with the PEC, compared with 20 to 30 complaints during the 2007 commune council elections and 241 complaints during the 2003 national election. Of these five, two concerned officials campaigning during working hours and three concerned the destruction of opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) signs. In all three of the sign destruction cases, the PEC determined there to be no fault because the SRP placed the signs on private property and the owners were well within their rights to remove any unwanted signs. Otherwise, Mr. Kay explained that preparations for election day were progressing smoothly, reporting that 67.47 percent of the Voter Information Notices (VINs) (Ref A) have been distributed for the 722,677 registered voters in Phnom Penh. Local authorities are working with civil society and media to get the message out to voters that the remaining VINs are available to be picked up directly from the Commune Election Committees (CECs.) ¶3. (U) The Chairman seemed particularly worried about the potential for violence and insecurity occurring around campaign activities at market places. In an effort to avoid unwanted incidents, the PEC appealed to all parties to forego campaign activities at the markets. Mr. Kay also expressed his concern about the potential for future traffic disruptions between now and the election. The PEC asked all parties to refrain from campaigning on major thoroughfares throughout the capital during peak hours to prevent a repeat of a June 26 incident where almost all major routes to and from the airport were blocked by various campaign activities. Preparations Well Underway at the CECs -------------- ¶4. (U) Emboffs then paid visits to several CECs in Phnom Penh and discovered that most of the PEC's plans have been put into practice. Of the four CECs visited by Emboffs, the number of VINs distributed varied from 58.8 percent to 84.6 percent. Additionally, all four CECs reported having received all of the election materials from the PEC and are in varying stages of distributing them. When asked how they planned to prevent unauthorized officials from loitering in or around the polling stations, the CECs reported that they received strict instructions to prevent such behavior and have educated their staff, local authorities, and the security guards to be vigilant against such violations. ¶5. (U) All four CECs reported that they have not received any campaign related complaints (official or unofficial),but they noted that only a few of the parties (primarily CPP and occasionally SRP) regularly keep them informed of their planned campaign activities, which makes it difficult to manage security and logistical concerns. Most CECs identified the CPP and SRP as being by far the most active parties in their communes and Emboffs observed a great number of CPP and SRP signs throughout their visits around Phnom Penh. Optimism From CPP -------------- ¶6. (SBU) During a meeting with Emboffs, Mr. Pov Huot, Commune Chief of Chbar Ampov I commune and Chairman of the CPP for the commune, reported that the campaigns were proceeding smoothly in his commune. He explained that due to the good cooperation between SRP and CPP on the commune council (CPP holds six seats and SRP holds the other three) PHNOM PENH 00000602 002 OF 002 there exists a respectful campaigning environment in the commune. Mr. Huot predicted a high voter turn out and strong support for the CPP because "most of the people love the CPP," which he accredited to improvements such as the successful asphalting of most of the commune's roads. Despite Improved Campaign Climate, Alleged Abuses Continue -------------- ¶7. (SBU) However, Chairman of SRP for Meanchey District Mr. Thach Khun Sarin alleged discrimination against known SRP supporters in the distribution of VINs by pro-CPP village chiefs during a meeting with Emboffs. When asked if most voters are aware that they can now go directly to the CECs to retrieve their VINs, Sarin replied that many are not aware that they can do this, but assured Emboffs that most voters know that they can cast their ballot without their VINs. ¶8. (SBU) SRP members also expressed concern about alleged abuses committed by commune chiefs in issuing Form 1018s to illegitimate voters. (NOTE: Voters who have no other form of identification, either through loss or failure to apply for other forms of identification, can seek to have their commune chief issue them a Form 1018, which serves as a legitimate identity document accepted as a valid form of ID for voting purposes. END NOTE.) SRP members fear that unscrupulous pro-CPP commune chiefs issue such identity documents irregularly, specifically to Vietnamese immigrants who are widely perceived to support the CPP. Sarin appealed to Emboffs to try to persuade the NEC to prohibit commune chiefs from issuing any Form 1018s on the day before and day of the election to prevent such abuses. (NOTE: Sarin did not elaborate on whether or how the Vietnamese names appear on voter lists, which have been scrubbed of almost 500,000 names since 2007. END NOTE.) ¶9. (SBU) During conversations with several CECs throughout Phnom Penh, Emboffs learned that the SRP had yet to register party agents with most of the CECs. Sarin explained that the party decided to delay the registration of agents in an attempt to protect them from intimidation or attempts to influence their loyalty to SRP, conduct which Sarin alleged occurred with some frequency during previous elections (Ref B.) Sarin and SRP members also complained to Emboffs that local authorities intimidate their constituents to prevent people from affixing non-CPP party signs to their private property. According to SRP members, some people fear repercussions from local authorities allied with the CPP, such as making it difficult to obtain official documents, for their perceived support for opposition parties. Sarin indicated that this problem negatively impacted the level playing field for SRP's campaign activities. Emboffs believe that this practice is less of a concern in urban Phnom Penh than it is in the countryside, where the practice is believed to be more wide-spread, because many of the commune councils in Phnom Penh have SRP members to prevent such abuses. Additionally, the overall campaign strategy of the SRP has been to recruit supporters at the community level, quietly and "below the radar" -not to compete directly with the CPP in postering all houses in Phnom Penh with party signs. This is an approach aimed to better protect SRP supporters from the same concerns affecting official party agents, so it is unclear the extent to which their complaint about being unable to post party signs on houses is affecting their election strategy. Comment -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Phnom Penh has historically been a stronghold of SRP and we anticipate SRP will continue to receive support among the capital's residents, despite the party's concerns about alleged abuses and irregularities. The 67.47 percent success rate in the distribution of VINs falls short of the national average of 85.77 percent. This is most likely due in large part to the composition of Phnom Penh's population. There is greater migration in and out of the city than in more rural areas, and local authorities encounter greater difficulties in distributing the VINs to residents unknown to them. With the early establishment of locations, which should help to avoid the confusion over polling station locations witnessed in previous elections, we do not anticipate the undistributed VINs will have a major impact on voter turn-out in Phnom Penh. MUSSOMELI