A coalition of a wide range of civil society organizations, namely the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC, 21 NGO members), the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL, 10 NGO members), and the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC, 7 NGO members), have great concern over the general political situation and the practice of democracy in the Kingdom of Cambodia, especially during the electoral campaign period of the 4th term of the National Assembly Elections, which will take place on July 27, 2008.

The above mentioned civil society organizations have noted that during this electoral campaign period, starting from 26 June 2008 up to now, political violence particularly against non-ruling party activists at both the national and the local level, has threatened the freedom to fully participate in the upcoming elections. The latter is an important element of our democracy, and it is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia. We have identified numerous cases of political violence occurring during the past three-weeks of this election campaign period, such as political intimidation, and the killing of journalists as well as non-ruling party activists; leading to a deterioration of the general security situation in the country which in turn is creating fear among the general public.

Although the overall number of incidents of political violence appear to be less compared with previous election campaign periods, the above mentioned civil society organizations have observed and publicly expressed concern over the following cases:

- the killing in 11 cases;

- harassment and intimidation against political activists in 25 cases;

- the destruction of political parties’ campaign billboards in 15 cases;

- revention of electoral campaigning by political parties in 8 cases;

- violations of electoral campaign procedures in 9 cases; and

- vote buying in 7 cases.

With regard to these cases, the civil society organizations have further observed that in most cases, neither the perpetrators have been brought to justice in accordance with the laws nor have there been necessary legal actions taken by the competent authorities in order to stop and prevent such activities from being committed in the future.

The civil society organizations have learnt that during this electoral campaign period, the political situation and practice of democracy is going to deteriorate if the political violence remains at current levels. This in turn could then affect the principle of free and fair elections and the free will of Cambodian voters who will participate in the upcoming Election Day.

Therefore, the above mentioned civil society organizations recommend the following actions to be taken in order to ensure free and fair elections:

- The Royal Government of Cambodia and its relevant authorities shall take credible actions to investigate into the cases of reported political violence and bring perpetrators to justice in accordance with the existing laws.

- The Royal Government shall take urgent and effective measures to improve the security situation in the country, particularly with regard to threats to individual safety, in order to encourage more participation without fear and intimidation in the upcoming elections.

- Competent authorities shall take actions to stop and prevent any offenses, and respond in time to complaints filed by the people about any cases of threat and violence which endanger their lives.

- The National Elections Committee (NEC) shall act neutrally and independently from any political party involvement and shall solve complaints, if they are referred to them, promptly and in a fair manner.

- All parties shall display mutual respect, dignity and political maturity to ensure that the upcoming national election is conduced freely and equally.

- The armed forces and authorities at all political levels shall remain independent and neutral in fulfilling their duties and functions with high responsibility in order to ensure a peaceful electoral environment and the building of trust among voters.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Mr. Sok Sam Oeun Executive Director of CDP/Acting CHRAC Chairman Tel: 012 901 199
▪ Mr. Koul Phanha Executive Director of COMFREL Tel: 012 942 017
▪ Dr. Hang Puthea Executive Director of NICFEC Tel: 012 959 666
▪ Mr. Ny Chakriya Head of Monitoring Unit of ADHOC Tel: 011 274 959
▪ Mr. Im Sophea Executive Assistant of CSD Tel: 016 888 552

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