commune election 2022

The Rui Feng sugarcane processing plant is abandoned in Preah Vihear province. (Heng Vichet/VOD)

Sugar-Plantation Residents, Worn Down by Dispute, Feel Hopeless About Vote

The sugarcane company that evicted them is gone, but Preah Vihear farmers say others are now moving into their land. The commune chief hasn’t intervened, and the opposition candidate says he has “no right” and laughs nervously.

Meng Kroypunlok May 30, 3:55 pm

Heng Kim Lay walks in Siem Reap province on May 29, 2022. (Heng Kim Lay’s Facebook page)

Monk Says He Was Evicted From Pagoda for Opposition Support

A monk in Siem Reap province alleges he was ordered to leave his pagoda Saturday night because he showed support for the opposition Candlelight Party.

Nat Sopheap May 30, 3:11 pm

Choeun Nasy at a GDP rally at Sakream commune, in Kampong Thom’s Prasat Balaing district, on May 26, 2022. (Ananth Baliga/VOD)

Inside an Opposition Councilor’s Five Years as Commune Deputy

In Kampong Thom’s Sakream commune, the Grassroots Democratic Party’s Choeun Nasy spent five years trying to work with the ruling CPP in his role as second deputy chief. “I almost gave up,” he says.

Meng Kroypunlok May 27, 2:14 pm

The road through the Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Dam that residents must take to enter or leave Srekor commune, on May 20, 2022. (Photo: Danielle Keeton-Olsen/VOD)

In Dam-Divided Srekor, Opposition Candidate Eyes Return With Lofty Plans

After a hydropower dam forced resettlement, most Sesan residents made new lives in a grid of identical stilted houses in New Srekor, while some resisters founded Old Srekor. An ex-opposition commune chief is now looking to make a comeback in a split community.

Keat Soriththeavy May 27, 10:14 am

CPP commune chief candidate Lam Nat in Siem Reap province’s Balaing commune. (Andrew Haffner/VOD)

In 30% of Communes, CPP Is Swapping in New Candidates

The ruling party is replacing sitting commune chiefs with new candidates in hundreds of communes for the upcoming vote. The chiefs are largely stepping down by choice, and the party will continue to take care of them, a spokesperson said.

Chhorn Raksmey May 26, 6:59 pm

Candlelight’s Kung Raiya Faces Complaint Over Money Handed to Candidates

A ruling party representative in Kampong Cham is escalating a request to remove Candlelight Party candidate Kung Raiya and others from the upcoming ballot based on a complaint about Raiya distributing money to colleagues.

Khan Leakhena May 26, 6:52 pm

Tay Ngerb at his uncle’s Bunong grave in Mondulkiri’s Sen Monorom commune, in O'Reang district, in May 2022. (Ananth Baliga/VOD)

Running for Reelection After Sale of Indigenous Burial Grounds

Thvan Trel is one 10 officials implicated by the Interior Ministry in Mondulkiri land grabs, and is running again for commune chief at the June 5 election. Local Bunong residents blame her for the sale and loss of their burial grounds.

Phin Rathana May 26, 10:51 am

Gov’t-Linked Groups Dominate Election Observer Registrations

The top NGOs registered to observe next month’s commune election have evident links to state officials — one headed by a prime minister’s son, another by a deputy prime minister, and a third by a ministry’s secretary of state.

Danielle Keeton-Olsen May 25, 11:33 am

The Candlelight Party’s campaign rally in Phnom Penh on May 21, 2022. (Roun Ry/VOD)

Ruling Party Complains Against Candlelight’s ‘Change’ Slogan

The ruling CPP has filed complaints against four Candlelight commune chief candidates in Pailin for using a slogan calling for the removal of “the commune chief serving the party.”

Morm Moniroth May 24, 6:21 pm

CPP supporters in Phnom Penh on May 21, 2022. (Hean Rangsey/VOD)

CPP Letters on Polling Station Staff Training Raise Red Flags

Two ambiguously worded letters from CPP Phnom Penh members calling for polling station staffers to attend training have sparked concern from opposition parties saying the letters appeared to be inviting NEC officials to receive ruling party guidance.

Morm Moniroth May 24, 3:14 pm