Cambodian PM's
party triumphs in election test run,PHNOM PENH | Tue
Jun 5, 2012 5:37am EDT:"Official results from
Sunday's elections for the chiefs of areas known as communes are not expected
for several weeks but the major parties were in agreement that Hun Sen's
Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had swept the polls, as it has in all national
ballots in the past decade. The CPP claimed 72
percent of the seats in what it sees as a test of support ahead of the 2013
election. General elections take place every five years....The latest polls did
throw up some signs of discontent, with the CPP's notable loss of seats in
areas that have seen long-running land disputes and forced evictions from land
leased to foreign companies. The government suspended new land concessions to
foreign firms in May...." http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/05/us-cambodia-elections-idUSBRE8540E420120605
Khor Reports comment: In the 2007 commune elections, the Cambodian People's
Party won 1,592 commune chief (97%) out of 1,633 communes. The claimed victory of 72% of seats last month suggests a 17%-age point reduction in the number of seats. Just before the elections, new economic land concessions to foreigners were frozen. In the previous two years, there had been a surge in award of such concessions. Land disputes seem to be rife and these have apparently impacted on the ruling party's electoral results, although it still holds a very commanding position. When we started to research Cambodia agricultural concessions several years ago, there was little sign of NGO activity. Now, there are several active on land dispute matters. One is focused on sugar projects, lobbying foreign-buyers to boycott Cambodian sugar because of land conflicts.