By Helen Jarvis
PHNOM PENH — All the old players are back in town as the Cambodian elections draw close. Contrary to the expectations, and perhaps hopes, of many who deny the present government legitimacy, the elections appear likely to go ahead as scheduled on July 26.
A year ago the coalition government of FUNCINPEC and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) fell apart in military confrontation, the fighting being precipitated by behind-the-scenes deals between FUNCINPEC and the remaining Khmer Rouge forces, and illegal arms importations and troop movements.
First Prime Minister Ranariddh and most FUNCINPEC political and military leaders fled the country and tried unsuccessfully to rebuild the armed resistance of the 1980s.
Some FUNCINPEC leaders did not follow Ranariddh, but remained in the government, such as Ung Huot, who became first prime minister.
The fighting, however, resulted in renewed isolation of Cambodia and overt foreign hostility. Cambodia was refused entry into ASEAN, and once again the United Nations General Assembly seat was left vacant.
The United States led a withdrawal of aid and other forms of assistance and recognition, and a self-proclaimed "Friends of Cambodia" grouping appointed Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia (such models of democracy!) to advise on when Cambodia was worthy of international recognition.
The United Nations Centre for Human Rights and the secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia have issued reports covering in one breath a number of different issues: killings and executions during and following the July 1997 fighting; continued political violence; and the 1975-79 genocide of the Khmer Rouge.
Despite the difficult situation, the government decided to press ahead with the elections, postponing them slightly from the original date of May 1998.
First the electoral law itself was passed through the National Assembly. Then the National Electoral Commission was appointed. Both its chairperson (former minister of culture Chheng Pong) and vice-chairperson Kassie Neou (a human rights advocate who had lived in the United States for some years) are seen as of independent mind, even though the NEC membership is regarded as overwhelmingly supportive of the CPP.
Provincial electoral commissions have been established, and voter registration has been completed, with 98% of the expected number of voters registered. Some 11,000 polling stations are to be opened, and ballots counted at 1600 subdistrict offices.
Thirty-nine parties are on the ballot. Despite their earlier proclaimed intention of boycotting, they include FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party, led by the former finance minister of the same name.
All parties are given five minutes of television time daily in the month preceding the elections, but the NEC has been criticised for banning the press from supporting any one party or printing party propaganda.
Campaign meetings and rallies are being held throughout the country. There are posters in the streets and on trees, and continuous cavalcades of trucks with banners and flags flying and loudspeakers blaring.
The government refused to accept a UN supervisory or monitoring role (which involves active intervention). Instead, it signed an agreement for the UN to coordinate observers sent by governments and NGOs. Some 500 international observers are expected.
The United States will not participate in the joint report of observers, but will issue its own judgment of the elections.
Many US observers come from the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, arms of the two major US political parties. Both have been close to FUNCINPEC and extremely critical of the CPP; the IRI has also been an adviser and supporter of Sam Rainsy.
A last-minute attempt is being made to organise a team of observers who have previously worked in Cambodia for NGOs or university or development programs. Volunteer Observers for the Cambodian Election is being led by Tony Kevin, Australian ambassador to Cambodia 1994-97, and John McAuliff, from the US-Indochina Reconciliation Project.
A request to the Australian government for funding of Australian volunteers was, unfortunately, turned down, and so a smaller delegation, funded either personally or by NGOs, is being put together.
A UN report issued on July 1, "Monitoring of election-related intimidation and violence", stated that 140 cases had occurred between May 20 and June 27. This figure has attracted considerable press coverage, but the details indicate a somewhat different story.
The number of cases considered confirmed stands at 29 — bad enough, especially since it includes several murders, but considerably less than 140, and needing to be viewed in the context of Cambodia's history of violence. A comparison also needs to be made, for example, with the much larger number of killings during the recent Philippine elections.