CPP and CNRP spend one years fruitless to break the deadlock

Friday, 4 July 2014

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- The ruling party, the opposition and analysts all used to expect that the political deadlock will be solved before the first year of the fifth general election ends. However, now they fail.

 The negotiation aimed at ending political conflict was in stalemate after the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party demanded that two-third rule should be applied in reforming the National Election Committee (NEC) while the ruling party, Cambodian People’s Party, insisted on the fifty-plus-one rule. 

Delegates from the two parties, CPP and CNRP, seem to run out of reasons and options in renegotiating. Since the last negotiation till today, there has been no new arrangement for any meeting as before. 

Cheam Yeap, a senior CPP official, and Yem Punharith, a spokesman for CNRP, both show the same belief that this nearly one-year-old deadlock can actually be solved within this month, but it mainly depends on the meeting between the top of their respective parties.

They emphasize the need for their top to meet soon. Cheam Yeap told reporters today that “our officials have met for many times already and now it should be time for the top to meet and solve the deadlock once and for all.” 

In a similar statement, Yem Punharith said “the time is ripe for the top to meet again. Even though there might still be some disagreements, I do think they would eventually find a common ground to resolve the long standing deadlock.”

Despite the fact that the two agree on the importance of a formal meeting between their parties, they stand firm on their stance.

“We will stick to our stance that NEC reform shall be subject to a two-third vote in parliament as it is the only way to guarantee confidence and trust for the two sides”, stated Punharith. On the other hand, Yeap reiterated Hun Sen’s statement that “as our PM already said, the two-third formula would destroy democracy in Cambodia; therefore, the currently used fifty-plus-one rule is an ideal policy.”

Regarding the conflict between these two parties, Lao Mong Hay, an independent analyst, put it with confidence that “Both the ruling party and the opposition actually wanted to end the political deadlock a few months ago, but the right circumstances have not arrived yet.” 

Mong Hay further elaborates with regard to the disagreement in deciding the right formula to reform NEC that “the two parties should stop arguing on number, whether which formula to follow, and instead focus on people, who should be the right ones.”

For this independent analyst, members of parliaments (MPs), who are voted by the people, are obliged to end the problem as soon as possible in order to help gear the development forward and serve the people. It is not right for them to stubbornly stick to their stance, leaving the deadlock unsolved. “The top of the two parties must meet and speak honestly to one another in order to solve the problem at hands”, said Mong Hay.