Cambodia’s eight-month political deadlock shows hints of ending

Talks between Cambodia’s ruling party and the opposition to resolve the impasse over last year’s election have been deadlocked for months. The two sides disagree on a number of issues, most significantly reform of the National Election Committee (NEC). But signs of a thaw have emerged, and a meeting between the leaders of the two parties looks increasingly likely. Cambodia has been in a state of political paralysis since July’s disputed general election, in which the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, shocked the ruling party when it won nearly half of the votes and 55 of the 123 seats in parliament. … The opposition also wants to change the NEC, whose members are effectively appointed by the ruling party. The opposition wants NEC appointments to instead be subject to a two-thirds vote in parliament, giving it veto power to block members it opposes. … Agreement might be closer than it appeared only days ago. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng indicated that a meeting between the leaders of the two parties is under discussion. It would be the first such meeting between Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy since their summit in September, which ended with a vague agreement on electoral reform. … Until now, the ruling party has dismissed the opposition’s key demands, instead drafting a list of its own requirements, including that election-monitoring NGOs be more strictly controlled. After the last round of failed talks, the ruling party’s chief negotiator said his side was prepared to push ahead with its own reforms of the NEC. However, long-time human rights activist and political commentator Ou Virak said, that sort of one-sided approach is unlikely to prove successful because the ruling party knows how close it came to losing last year’s vote. …

 Robert ​Carmichael
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/cambodias-eight-month-political-deadlock-shows-hints-of-ending/1884765.html