Cambodia’s Opposition Launches Daily Protests to Force New Polls
The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) launched a campaign of daily demonstrations beginning Sunday in a bid to force Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to call for a re-election following disputed July polls. CNRP President Sam Rainsy and other leaders declared at a rally attended by about 10,000 supporters that they will continue to hold protests every day for three months throughout the country demanding new elections after the July 28 polls were marred by claims of fraud and other irregularities. The party’s deputy president, Kem Sokha, warned that there will be a mass movement to topple the government if Hun Sen, who has held power for 28 years, does not call for a re-election. … The CNRP’s demonstrations will be held “every day non-stop,” Sam Rainsy said, calling it a non-violent attempt to bring about change based on democratic principles. … A government spokesman on Sunday dismissed the opposition’s call for a new poll, saying it had failed to prove any voting irregularities. “Thus CNRP is in no position to call for a new election. It just shows that CNRP is just a sore loser,” Khieu Kanharith, who also represents the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), told Agence France-Presse.
Radio Free Asia News Staff
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/rally-12152013171658.html
