Khmer Times/Taing Vida Wednesday, 05 October 2016
Kem Sokha, the acting president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), will leave the party headquarters after being under de facto house arrest for more than four months to register to vote today.
After an internal meeting last night, the CNRP issued a statement saying Mr. Sokha would register to vote at 10am, but did not say where he would register.
Senior CNRP official Eng Chhai Eang said the CNRP declined to release the location of Mr. Sokha’s voter registration not because of any fears for his safety or arrest, but because he has two homes in Phnom Penh.
He owns a house in Chak Angre Krom commune and in Boeung Kak 2 commune, and the Election Law affords people the right to choose the most convenient place for them to vote.
“He [Mr. Sokha] is not worried about being arrested because he has done nothing wrong, even though the courts convicted him. This is a court matter, but the national and international communities believe this is politically motivated,” he said.
He added that at the meeting yesterday, opposition MPs discussed ideas related to the boycott of the National Assembly’s plenary session and exchanged thoughts on potential political negotiations as part of a resumption of the “culture of dialogue.”
They did not come to any conclusions, but said the meeting would resume today.
The National Assembly’s Permanent Committee conducted a meeting yesterday and said the seventh plenary session would start on Friday after a three-month break.
Eight topics are on the agenda for the plenary session, including the King’s Royal Letter, a report on the assembly’s activities and the approval of a number of draft laws.
Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Chheang Vun told reporters during a press conference at the National Assembly that the participation of the opposition party in congress was integral to the development of the nation and that any political issue could be solved through discussions at the assembly.
“We know that Samdech Techo [Prime Minister Hun Sen] said that coming to the assembly and seeing each other hold hands would lead to exchanges too, but I do not know what it would be yet and these all depend on the top leaders of the two parties,” he said.
Yem Ponhearith, the CNRP spokesman, said the political situation is now calm and this tranquility would enable both parties to sit down, talk and address a series of issues.
“We proposed the amendment of three laws related to the judiciary and we suggested making changes, so we need to appear to defend our proposals. It would be strange if we did not defend it,” he said.
The CNRP’s National Assembly MPs boycotted parliamentary plenary sessions after police attempted to arrest Mr. Sokha in May, forcing the party leader to confine himself to the party headquarters since then.
They hoped their protest would show the international community that the ruling party is suppressing the opposition and ignoring the immunity given to all MPs.
Mr. Sokha was sentenced to five months in prison for refusing to appear as a witness in a prostitution case. He was given one month to appeal the verdict before a summons for his arrest is issued, and the court is expected to announce its decision on October 16.
His defense lawyers have said they will file the appeal before the decision is handed down.