Cambodia’s Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy ‘Narrow Differences’ in Election Stalemate

Cambodia’s ruling and opposition parties are “narrowing their differences” in talks aimed at ending a standoff over recent elections, officials said Tuesday, as protesters ended three straight days of mass demonstrations against poll results. … Both the leaders led their parties in the discussions, which were the third in four days and were initiated by King Norodom Sihamoni after the CNRP refused to accept official results declaring the CPP victor in the hotly-contested July 28 polls and threatened to boycott parliament. Sam Rainsy told RFA’s Khmer Service after the talks that his CNRP was seeking a “balance of power” to check any abuses by the CPP and initiate institutional and other reforms in the administration. … CPP spokesman Prak Sakhon told reporters that Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy “have a mutual understanding of each other” although their parties have not yet reached “100 percent agreement” on a deal that would end the stalemate. “But the parties’ stances are getting closer and we hope to have a solution soon,” he said after the meeting in the National Assembly building in Phnom Penh. … “We are working to resolve our differences and the gap is narrowing,” he [CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann] said. … CNRP party leaders said they were seeking ways to share power with the CPP but were not considering forming a coalition government with them. “We must demand a balance of power,” Sam Rainsy told RFA in an interview Tuesday. “The CNRP must have a role and the ability to prevent any abuses against the people. We won’t allow the CPP to do anything arbitrarily,” said he said. … He [Sam Rainsy] said the CNRP, which according to official results garnered 55 seats in parliament compared to the CPP’s 68, should play an important role in charting the country’s course in accordance with voters’ wishes. … The CNRP was not considering forming a coalition government with the CPP, as the now-defunct Funcinpec royalist party had following a close election in 1993, he said. “The CPP has never discussed forming a coalition government with us,” Kem Sokha said. “We have talked only about reform.” … The talks between the two parties came as some 10,000 protesters turned out for a rally in Phnom Penh in the wake of violence that had marred a demonstration over the weekend. …

 Radio Free Asia
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/talks-09172013181436.html