For some, the Candlelight Party’s single-digit wins in communes is simply “unbelievable.” Others point to voter intimidation and the dearth of neutral observers as burying the voters’ “real” will.
In a statement issued in the morning, the Candlelight Party said it did not consider Sunday’s election to have been free and fair, and that results did not reflect the will of the Cambodian people.
The ruling Cambodian People’s Party is claiming a near-clean sweep of the country’s 1,652 communes, as the NEC’s preliminary results from around 13% of communes so far suggest the party is on track to a whitewash.
The Candlelight Party describes Muoy commune as an opposition stronghold in Preah Sihanouk, where communities without land titles face precarious futures. A candidate who spent two years in jail over a land dispute thinks the issue will be his ticket to victory.
The ruling CPP will hold a large roadshow on Friday to end the two-week election campaign period, with the party expecting in excess of 50,000 supporters.
The opposition Candlelight Party’s deputy head in Takeo province has been arrested for plotting in relation to an exiled opposition leader’s attempt to return to Cambodia, a charge a defense lawyer described as politically motivated.
Across Kandieng district in Pursat, people described living through a crackdown on flooded-forest farming and fishing that seemed inconsistent and designed to intimidate, in several cases becoming entwined with politics ahead of the June 5 commune election.
Former Free Trade Union president Chea Mony has thrown his support behind the Candlelight Party and wants the union movement to reengage with politics.
In a ruling-party stronghold, where the Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit has a base and its presence is heavily felt, few are willing to stick out their necks — except for a 73-year-old opposition commune-chief candidate.
O’Smach commune was the exception to the ruling party’s near-sweep of Oddar Meanchey province in 2017. Even the sitting CPP commune chief admits: “People here think differently. If they have a problem with their leaders, they want to change them.”
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