Rainsy Amasses Support Ahead of Monday’s Rally
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Friday visited vendors in Phnom Penh’s Olympic and Russian markets and appealed to voters disgruntled by preliminary election results awarding a victory to the CPP to join a planned opposition rally at Freedom Park on Monday. As he toured both markets, Mr. Rainsy embraced his supporters as the animated crowds offered him gifts of flowers and jockeyed to take photographs and videos of the opposition leader. … Speaking to reporters at Russian Market, the second of the two markets he visited during the course of the morning, Mr. Rainsy reiterated his party’s stance that CNRP lawmakers will not sit in the National Assembly until a solution to the impasse over allegations of irregularities during the July 28 national election is reached. … Mr. Rainsy also told vendors that he hoped they would support his party’s attempts to bring transparency to the election by joining a rally at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh on Monday, though he continued to underline that the event should not be considered a demonstration against the election results, but rather an opportunity to inform supporters of the country’s current political situation. … With the CNRP expecting at least 10,000 people to turn out for the rally, authorities have been engaged in a counter-campaign to discourage people from taking part, with a visible security buildup and ominous rhetoric seeking to frighten supporters and keep them from participating. Authorities even circulated petitions at Phnom Penh markets asking people to support preliminary results showing a win for the CPP and promising not to join any demonstration called by the opposition. Vendors, motorcycle taxi and cyclo drivers around O’Russei Market reported that market staff had gone around Monday intimidating people into giving their thumbprint, while NGOs said that several other communes around the city also complained of feeling pressured into endorsing similar petitions. …
Khy Sovuthy and Simon Henderson
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/rainsy-amasses-support-ahead-of-mondays-rally-40743/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rainsy-amasses-support-ahead-of-mondays-rally
