Pro-government Cambodian lawmakers unanimously approved changes to the country's election law on Friday that will ban anyone who fails to vote from running as a candidate in future elections, a move critics say is aimed at crippling the opposition's chances in the polls.
The measure was approved with minimal debate by all 111 lawmakers present in the National Assembly. All members of the assembly belong to Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party.
Hun Sen, who has been in power for 38 years, declared last week that the law would be amended ahead of July's general election to compel candidates for public office to prove their civic responsibility. The amended law will take effect after approval by the Senate, a formality.
Hun Sen's critics say the action is his latest tactic to marginalize his political opponents, some of whom are considering an election boycott. He announced the plan less than a month after the main opposition party was barred from participating in the polls because it could not provide all of the paperwork required for registering.
The Candlelight Party said it was unable to provide one document to the National Election Committee because it had been seized in a police raid several years ago. Cambodia's Constitutional Council refused to overturn the election committee's decision not to register the party, drawing widespread criticism that the election would not be fair without its participation.
The ruling drew international condemnation. The U.S. State Department said it was "deeply troubled" by the decision to bar the Candlelight Party and urged the government "to reverse course to ensure its citizens can participate in a fair, multiparty democracy."
That action against the Candlelight Party was similar to what happened ahead of the 2018 general election, when the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party posed a serious challenge to Hun Sen's party. It was dissolved months ahead of the polls by a controversial court ruling that alleged it had plotted the illegal overthrow of the government. The party's disbanding enabled Hun Sen's party to win all the seats in the National Assembly.
Under the amended election law, prospective candidates must have voted in at least two elections to qualify as a candidate in elections at the commune, district, municipality, provincial and national levels.
Most prominent opposition figures are in self-imposed exile to avoid being jailed on various charges they say are trumped up and unfair, and the amendment would prevent them from running in future polls without any further action needed to bar them. Opposition figures still inside the country who fail to vote would face the same consequences.
The amended law would also discourage an election boycott by placing opposition figures who wish to contest future polls in the awkward position of appearing to be hypocrites if they urge people not to vote while they themselves cast ballots.
It will also discourage boycotts by allowing the election committee to impose a fine of five million to 20 million riels ($1,200 to $4,800) on anyone who encourages people not to register or vote.
Anyone who incites people to use threats or violence against candidates or political party officials can also be fined and disqualified as candidates for five years. Political parties that fail to remove disqualified candidates can be fined 10 million to 30 million riels ($2,420 to $7,270).
Hun Sen, 70, is an authoritarian ruler in a nominally democratic state. He and his party hold all the advantages of incumbency in the election in terms of political organizing, personnel, finances and media influence. About 9.7 million Cambodians are registered to vote for the 125-seat National Assembly.
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