2003 Cambodian general election

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2003 Cambodian general election
Flag of Cambodia.svg
←  1998 27 July 2003 2008  →
All 123 seats in the National Assembly
62 seats needed for a majority
Turnout83.22% (Decrease2.svg 10.52pp)
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
CPP Hun Sen 47.3573+9
FUNCINPEC Norodom Ranariddh 20.7526−17
SRP Sam Rainsy 21.8724+5
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
2003 Cambodian general election - Results by constituency.svg
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
Hun Sen
CPP 		Hun Sen
CPP

General elections were held in Cambodia on 27 July 2003 to elect members of the National Assembly. The elections were won by the ruling Cambodian People's Party, which won a majority of 73 seats in the 123-seat parliament. However, due to the requirement for a two-thirds majority to elect a Prime Minister, a new government was not formed until July 2004 when a deal was reached with the FUNCINPEC party. Hun Sen was subsequently re-elected the post of Prime Minister.

Contents

Background

Cambodia became a democracy in the early 1990s with the first democratic elections held in 1993. [1] After both elections during the 1990s the Cambodian People's Party formed coalition governments with the royalist FUNCINPEC party. [1] The previous elections in 1998 saw significant violence and intimidation of opposition supporters. [2] It took place a year after FUNCINPEC had been violently ousted from the coalition government by the Cambodian People's Party. [3] However following the election they once more formed a coalition with Hun Sen as Prime Minister and FUNCINPEC's leader Prince Norodom Ranarridh, the son of King Norodom Sihanouk, as his deputy. [1]

In local elections in 2002 the Cambodian People's Party performed strongly leading in 1,597 of the 1,621 communes of Cambodia. [4] Meanwhile, FUNCINPEC suffered a setback dropping to only 22% of the vote. [4]

Campaign

The run-up to the election saw some violence including the killing of a judge and a royalist politician, [5] however it was much reduced from previous elections. [6] During the campaign the United States Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Cambodia, met all three main party leaders and called on all parties to have fair coverage in the media. [1] The opposition were able to get some time on television during the campaign, [4] but there were many reports in rural areas of voters being intimidated by the Cambodian People's Party. [7] In total 22 parties contested the election but only three were seen as real contenders in the election. [8]

The Cambodian People's Party had control of much of the media in Cambodia, the most money and a superior party machine. [2] The party campaigned on the economic development they said that they were bringing to Cambodia and in the March before the election they announced a 1.5 billion dollar program to counter poverty. [2] The party and their leader Hun Sen won support from voters due to their presiding over the most peaceful period in the countries recent history after ending the rule of the Khmer Rouge. [4] The party had the strongest support in rural areas of Cambodia, but younger voters in urban areas were more desirous of change and therefore supportive of the opposition. [9]

The two main opposition parties criticised the government of Hun Sen for its corruption and pledged to improve health and education in Cambodia. [8] FUNCINPEC called for reform of the economy and for more foreign investment, but their leader, Norodom Ranariddh, was seen as being ineffective and his party's popularity was in decline. [2] [8] Meanwhile, the Sam Rainsy Party criticised corruption, pledged more money for health, education and civil servant pay and attempted to attract the poor. [8] The party had grown in strength since the previous election but their leader Sam Rainsy was seen as being authoritarian. [2]

Results

Voter turnout in the election was high with over 80% casting ballots. [10] The results saw the Cambodian People's Party win a clear majority of seats but fell short of the two-thirds majority required in order to elect a Prime Minister on their own. [11] FUNCINPEC lost ground dropping from the 31% they had won in 1998 to only just over 20% this time, while the Sam Rainsy Party rose to 22% from 14% in 1998. [12]

Cambodian National Assembly composition, 2003-2008.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Cambodian People's Party 2,447,25947.3573+9
FUNCINPEC 1,072,31320.7526–17
Sam Rainsy Party 1,130,42321.8724+9
Khmer Democratic Party 95,9271.8600
The Rice Party76,0861.470New
Indra Buddra Party62,3381.210New
Khmer Soul Party56,0101.080New
Cambodian Development Party36,8380.710New
Khmer Angkor Party26,3850.5100
Cambodian Women's Party23,5380.460New
Khmer Front Party20,2720.390New
Khmer Unity Party18,3090.3500
Hang Dara Democratic Movement Party 15,6710.300New
Khmer Spiritual Aspiration Party14,3420.280New
Kon Khmer Party14,0180.270New
Union of National Solidarity Party11,6760.230New
Khmer Help Khmer9,4820.180New
Farmer's Party9,4490.180New
Molinaka and the Khmer Freedom Fighters Party6,8080.1300
Cambodian Free Independent Democratic Party6,8060.130New
Khmer Citizens' Party6,5260.1300
National Khmer Party4,2320.080New
Liberal Democratic Party 4,1290.0800
Total5,168,837100.00123+1
Valid votes5,168,83797.94
Invalid/blank votes108,6572.06
Total votes5,277,494100.00
Registered voters/turnout6,341,83483.22
Source: IFES, EU

Aftermath

Following the election, FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party refused to attend parliament and formed an "Alliance of Democrats" in order to block Hun Sen from being elected Prime Minister again. [13] They rejected the official results and said that they had been manipulated by the Cambodian People's Party. [11] After initially boycotting parliament the two parties were persuaded by the King to attend the swearing in at the end of September, but remained firm in rejecting joining a government led by Hun Sen. [14] However, despite no government being formed, a caretaker administration run by Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party was able to continue. [14]

A provisional agreement was said to have been reached in November on a three party government led by Hun Sen but the opposition later denied this. [13] Personal dislike between the three parties and the opposition of the Cambodia People's Party to a three party government meant negotiations on forming a government dragged on into 2004. [13] Eventually, 11 months after the election, [15] towards the end of June 2004 the Cambodia People's Party and FUNCINPEC reached an agreement under which ministerial seats would be divided up 60-40 between them and Hun Sen would remain Prime Minister. [16] On the 15 July 2004 the Cambodian parliament finally approved the new government with 96 of the 123 members voting in favour. [17] There was a significant increase in the number of ministers to 207, including 7 deputy prime ministers and 180 cabinet ministers, in order to reach agreement on the new government. [15]

See also

Literature

Related Research Articles

The politics of Cambodia are defined within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the king serves as the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. The collapse of communism set in motion events that led to the withdrawal of the Vietnamese armed forces, which had established their presence in the country since the fall of the Khmer Rouge. The 1993 constitution, which is currently in force, was promulgated as a result of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, followed by elections organized under the aegis of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. The constitution declares Cambodia to be an "independent, sovereign, peaceful, permanently neutral and non-aligned country." The constitution also proclaims a liberal, multiparty democracy in which powers are devolved to the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. However, there is no effective opposition to the Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power from 1984 up to 2023. His Cambodian People's Party won all 125 seats in the National Assembly in 2018 after the banning of opposition party CNRP and KNLF. KNLF became a main opposition exiled in Denmark after CNRP was dissolved. During the communal election in 2022 and the national election in 2023, there were no international observers. The government is considered to be autocratic.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kazmin, Amy (2003-06-20). "Powell call over Cambodian poll media US OFFICIAL'S VISIT:". Financial Times . p. 10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Asia: Limousines and poverty; Cambodia". The Economist . 2003-06-07. p. 62.
  3. ↑ Spillius, Alex (2003-07-28). "Hun Sen on his way to poll win in Cambodia". The Daily Telegraph . p. 12.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Asia: Stronger and stronger; Cambodia's election". The Economist . 2003-07-26. p. 59.
  5. ↑ Madra, Ek (2003-04-24). "Senior Cambodian judge assassinated". The Independent . p. 16.
  6. ↑ Aglionby, John (2003-07-26). "Cambodia edges towards change". The Guardian . p. 17.
  7. ↑ Kazmin, Amy (2003-07-26). "Dark threats likely to keep Cambodia's ruling party in power". Financial Times . p. 5.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Cambodia Election Guide". BBC Online . 2003-07-25. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  9. ↑ Kazmin, Amy (2003-07-22). "Cambodia's disenchanted young grow restless for a brighter future: Many are fervently hoping for a new government when this Sunday the country goes to its first poll since 1998, Amy Kazmin reports". Financial Times . p. 9.
  10. ↑ Aglionby, John (2003-07-28). "80% turnout for Cambodian vote". The Guardian . p. 10.
  11. 1 2 Kazmin, Amy (2003-07-30). "Opposition rejects Hun Sen victory claim CAMBODIAN ELECTIONS:". Financial Times . p. 9.
  12. ↑ Kazmin, Amy (2003-07-31). "Cambodian prime minister rejects calls to step down". Financial Times . p. 9.
  13. 1 2 3 "Asia: Deadlock; Cambodia;". The Economist . 2004-02-21. p. 66.
  14. 1 2 Kazmin, Amy (2003-09-29). "Cambodian parties boycott parliament over resignation call". Financial Times . p. 2.
  15. 1 2 "Cambodian government faces uphill task". BBC Online . 2004-07-15. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  16. ↑ Kazmin, Amy (2004-06-28). "Coalition deal in Cambodia ends 11-month post-election standoff". Financial Times . p. 2.
  17. ↑ "Cambodian parliament ends deadlock". BBC Online . 2004-07-15. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
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