Assessing the Cambodian elections: An overview
By Kao Kim Hourn
This publication is based on the outcomes of a two-day national conference on “Elections in Cambodia: Lessons Learned and Future Direction,” which was organized by the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP) in cooperation with the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs (NDI), with the funding support from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in April 2002.
Sharing the objective of the conference, this publication reviews the three key elections in Cambodia, namely the national elections in 1993 and 1998 and the communal council elections in February 2002. By assessing the previous elections, lessons could be learned as Cambodia now prepares to organize the next election on July, 2003.
This “Overview” will discuss some of the key challenges related to the Cambodian elections, while the contributing papers will examine specific election issues and offer some practical measures for improving Cambodian elections:
I. The Achievement of Cambodian Elections
In the past ten years, during which three elections were organized, Cambodia has come a long way in institutionalizing the electoral process and restoring democracy. As one of the most important pillars of democracy, elections were considered to be one of the achievements of Cambodia’s democracy building during this recent period. As noted below, the successes of elections in Cambodia helped contributed to peace, stability, security, development and progress in the country.
First, reducing tensions and strengthening political stability. Despite some challenges, there has been a remarkable progress with respect to the outcomes and experience of the three elections in Cambodia. The elections essentially contributed to reducing political tensions, enhancing political stability, and promoting democracy pluralism and human rights. Free and fair elections did not promote instability and insecurity as wrongly assumed, but they promoted democracy, pluralism, stability and peace.
Second, promoting national reconciliation and unification. Arguably, the three elections in Cambodia promoted national reconciliation, political dialogue and national unity. The elections also provided the opportunity for the Cambodian government to implement its “win-win” policy, which ultimately led to a “national unification” as a result of the complete demise of the Khmer Rouge.
Three, increasing civil society’s role in the electoral process. Because of its important role in the past elections, especially in the 1998 and 2002 elections, the Cambodian government and the donor community recognized the significant contribution of civil society to the electoral process. In particular, the role of civil society in voters’ education and election and election monitoring is indispensable for free and fair elections. As some of the government officials have noted, the role of civil society in future elections in Cambodia remains essential.
Fourth, election experience contributed to the decline of election cost. As Cambodia becomes more organized with its elections, the country has built up over time an electoral infrastructure and election experiences, including the development of human resources and electoral technical expertise. The development of electoral infrastructure through capacity building, training and experiences helped contributed to the decline of election costs in the country, as time and resources were invested in the electoral process. Therefore, election experiences gaining from the previous elections and the buildup of electoral infrastructure could be an important factor for reducing the high cost of future elections in Cambodia.
Fifth, commitment to improve quality and efficiency in future elections. One of the most important lessons of Cambodian elections in recent years is the fact that the Cambodian government has recognized the need to ensure greater quality and more efficiency in its future elections. The call for a significant improvement in future elections by the Cambodian government, particularly in 2003, is a positive step.
In addition, the Cambodian elections had positively contributed to the electoral development and progress in the country, in particular related to the overall election environment:
- A positive change of mindsets of the people, which contributed to confidence building in the electoral process.
- Institutionalizing the rule of law in election through passing the electoral law and laying the foundation of electoral procedures, as well as relying on technical expertise and professional conduct in the elections.
- Strengthening the implementation of and respect for electoral law.
- Increasing public support for the confidence in the electoral process as more people – particularly the voters – become greater involvement in the elections.
- Promoting of a culture of free, fair, peaceful and nonviolent elections through the accumulation of election experiences.
II. Key Election Issues: The Challenge of Reform
As Cambodia moves ahead with the preparation for the upcoming national election in 2003 and beyond, the following key electoral issues need to be taken into serious consideration by all stakeholders, particularly by those policymakers in the government, the parliament, the NEC, and civil society who deal directly with election issues. These key electoral issues constitute the challenge of reform in Cambodian election.
First, reforming the National Election Committee. An important electoral reform today is the need for restructuring the NEC in order to make it more independent and more impartial in the eyes of the public. In this regard, no political party or the government should have any direct or indirect influence on the NEC. Moreover, the NEC needs to reduce its membership from the current level of nine to five at least. As part of restructuring the electoral body, it is imperative to critically review NEC’s relationship with key political institutions, such as political parties, the government, and the parliament, as well as with the election monitoring organizations (EMOs). There is also a need to reform the NEC’s structure and composition at the lower levels in order to reflect the changes. To be sure, the NEC can better serve the people and national interests when it is truly independent and acts impartially.
Second, strengthening the election monitoring. Although there is now a great deal of experience in election monitoring in the country, strengthening election monitoring for the national observers in future Cambodian elections remains imperative. Those who continue to work as the election monitors should attempt to upgrade their capacity and expertise. They also should continue to build on their election monitoring experiences. To ensure the effectiveness of their work, the election monitoring observers should liaise and work closely with the NEC through a constructive partnership. In addition, the local EMOs should increase their contacts with international EMOs to help improve the image and capacity of local EMOs, as well as raising the profile and credibility of the local EMOs. The following are the several key areas where improvement can be made with respect to election monitoring:
- Conducting regular training and capacity building in election monitoring of local election monitors.
- Coordinating and cooperating among local EMOs and between local EMOs and international EMOs to avoid duplication, confusion and rivalry.
- Sharing information, insights and experiences among local EMOs more regularly.
- Mobilizing resources – finance, technical expertise and materials – for the work of EMOs.
- Establishing closer and better working relations with the NEC.
Third, enhancing the role of the NEC in educating voters about their rights and freedom and provide voters election information in a timely manner. The NEC must play its critical role in educating voters about their rights and freedom and provide the necessary electoral information in a timely manner to ensure that the voters are fully informed and being updated regularly on election information. In addition, the NEC needs to reach out to the EMOs as well as the local authority, especially now that the communal councils are in place, to disseminate election information to all Cambodian voters.
Fourth, enhancing the role of EMOs in voter education. Voter education is fundamental to free and fair election. Accordingly, it is imperative that the Cambodian government, the NEC, the political parties and the donor community should actively support the EMOs in undertaking their task of providing voter education to the Cambodian people. The EMOs also should engage in broader civic and voter education as well as dissemination of election-related information.
Fifth, providing all political parties with equal access to media. Each political party participating in the elections must be given equal and fair access to both private and state-run media, as well as the right to disseminate its party guidelines to the people. Each political party should also have the rights to freely voice their views before the election. Having equal access to media is equally important to a free and fair election. Political parties should restrain from monopolizing the airwaves and the printed media, especially during the election campaign period.
Sixth, managing or resolving election-related disputes. Solving election-related disputes should be done in accordance within the electoral legal framework. In this regard, the NEC must play its role as an independent, impartial, responsible and transparent referee. To be effective, a unit in charge of election-related disputes within the NEC must be strengthened and more resources should be committed. In addition, the NEC must take some measures to promote confidence building measure as well as conflict prevention in order to avoid election-related from occurring in the first place or from escalating.
Seventh, enhancing the sustainable process of voter registration. Cambodia needs to put in place an effective mechanism of voter registration, and in so doing it could help reduce the cost of registration each time the country organizes an election. In this regard, there is a need to have a continuous voter registration system in place in order to ensure that every Cambodian voter can be registered when he or she reaches a minimum age required under law.
Moreover, the local authorities can assist with the voter registration. In addition, the communal council authorities should assume the responsibility for voter registration, and such lists of voters can be submitted to the NEC regularly.
Eighth, enforcing the electoral law more effectively. Cambodia’s electoral law should be fully enforced more effectively, and anyone – including the NEC officials or other officials from the lower election committees – who is found guilty of violating the electoral law should be punished. Enforcing electoral law can help promote free and fair election in the country and thus advance democracy in Cambodia.
Ninth, the integrity and secrecy of the ballots should be fully guaranteed. In the process of ballot counting, it is important that the integrity and secrecy of the ballots should be fully guaranteed at all costs to ensure the confidence of the people and the election observers. The lack of integrity and secrecy of the ballots could undermine the electoral process.
Tenth, strengthening and respecting the code of ethics or code of conduct for the elections and the need of define campaign budget. It is absolutely imperative that all political parties should respect the code of ethics governing the conduct of elections and at the same time they must uphold the national interests above all else. On the election campaign budget, all political parties should disclose their budget as transparently as possibly when the law is required. Thus, there is a need to define the campaign budget for all political parties. In addition, legal measures must be taken against election intimidation, bribery, voter buying and fraud.
Eleventh, increasing women’s participation in the election process is essential. Women have important role to play in any Cambodian election, given their rights and the high percent of women voters in the country. In this regard, the NEC, political parties and civil society should actively encourage women to fully participate in the electoral process.
Twelfth, the government must provide sufficient election budget on time. To ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization of the national election in 2003, the Cambodian government must provide adequate election budget to the NEC on time in order to avoid delays in the implementation or impose additional unnecessary burdens on the NEC. At the same time, there is a need to have an independent budget line item for the NEC in order to ensure its independence and credibility in the medium and long-terms.
Thirteenth, the role of international assistance in Cambodian elections remains vital. The donor community should remain actively engaged in Cambodia’s electoral process in order to ensure the expansion and deepening of democracy building and pluralism in the country. The donor community should also recognize the fact that Cambodia’s election budget is not sufficient, and in this regard the donor community should stay committed to support Cambodia’s election, in particular the national election in 2003.
Fourteenth, Cambodian leader’s commitment to peaceful election is imperative for free and fair election. It is crucial that the Cambodian leaders must demonstrate beyond the reason of doubt that they do not tolerate any election violence or election intimidation, especially in the upcoming 2003 national election. The commitment of Cambodian leaders to nonviolence is a crucial factor for free, fair and peaceful election.
Fifteenth, reviewing and amending the electoral law is a necessary step for improving the electoral process in the country. With the parliament and the support of civil society, the government should review the electoral law and where it is necessary should improve the law in order to reflect the current needs and the broader national interests.
(Source: Elections in Cambodia: Lessons Learned and Future Direction, page1-12, Phnom Penh, 2002)