Cambodia's constitutional noose is strangling development
A sense of deja vu hangs over Cambodia. The political deadlock that gripped the country after national elections in 1998 - and led to bloody violence that ended only after months of intense in-fighting - has returned.
Official results from elections on July 27 show 2.45 million Cambodians voted for Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party. Representing 47.35 per cent of ballots cast, the number was far short of the two-thirds majority needed to govern alone.
The two main opposition groups, the Sam Rainsy Party and the royalist Funcinpec, have refused to form a coalition, as they did five years ago. And Hun Sen has rejected their calls for his resignation.
Funcinpec, the outgoing coalition partner, had 20.75 per cent of the votes and the Sam Rainsy Party had 21.87 per cent.
By September 6, the National Election Commission will announce the number of seats each party has in the 123-seat National Assembly, which must sit by September 27. With rivalry high among parties, observers said it was doubtful a government would be in place when allocations were made.
Human rights activist and election monitor Kek Galabru said electoral reform would prevent Cambodia from grinding to a halt after national elections, but even this was fraught with difficulties as a two-thirds majority was also needed to amend the constitution.
'If parties can't agree on forming a government, what chance do we have of changing the constitution?'
The basis of Cambodia's constitution was worked out at a peace conference in Paris in 1991, called to create democratic rule in a country that had endured four years of brutal rule by the Khmer Rouge and a decade-long occupation by Vietnam. Representatives from Cambodian society, the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan and Australia set the two-thirds majority rule to ensure stable, democratic government.
Landmark elections held two years later under UN supervision were won by Funcinpec, which is headed by King Norodom Sihanouk's son, Prince Norodom Ranarridh. Hun Sen rejected the results and under a compromise mediated by the UN, the two men were appointed co-premiers. In 1997, Hun Sen seized sole power in a coup.
Political analysts in Phnom Penh admitted the compromise and the circumstances under which it was brokered were still affecting Cambodia's politics.
Kao Kim Hourn, the executive director of the Institute for Co-operation and Peace, said that while constitutional change would prevent political gridlock, Cambodian voters thought otherwise.
'People have expressed through the ballot box a desire for a coalition government,' Dr Kao said. 'In 1993, the idea of a coalition government was to promote national reconciliation. Of course, we have matured politically since then so maybe it's a good idea to have a simple majority of 50 per cent plus one.'
The Cambodia director of the Washington-based democracy-building National Democratic Institute, Mark Wallem, agreed that changing the law would be beneficial. 'The two-thirds rule is a reality now, but it might be wise for the next government to re-evaluate it.'
Hun Sen would need a partner to govern, because his party would get 73 parliamentary seats, six short of the two-thirds required. So far, though, he has rejected all suggestions by Funcinpec, including a non-partisan prime minister and a three-party ruling coalition.
Ms Galabru, chairwoman of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, rejected assessments by international election monitors that the elections were relatively trouble-free. Election and counting day had passed smoothly, but 31 people were killed during the seven-month campaigning period.
'People were scared', she said. 'There were many cases of intimidation and vote-buying. The registration was also poorly done.'
