It can be said that Cambodia’s fifth general election has achievedsuccess after the National Election Committee announced the poll’spreliminary results on August 12.
Accordingly, the rulingCambodian People’s Party (CPP) led with a total of 3,236,009 votes,followed by the main opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP)with 2,945,676 votes, with the remaining going to the six other parties.
Analysts said that with the largest number of votes, theCPP would gain more than half the seats in the parliament and willcontinue its ruling.
The NEC’s announcement came asno surprise. After the July 28 election, UN Secretary General BanKi-moon, many heads of state and government leaders worldwide, includingVietnam’s Party and State leaders, sent their messages ofcongratulations to Cambodia and expressed their belief that on the basisof the election’s outcome, the new National Assembly in the countrywould convene soon and a new Government will be formed early tostabilise and develop the country, in the interests of the Cambodianpeople while contributing to peace and stability in the region and theworld at large.
One day after the election, theInternational Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) and theCentrist Asia Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI) said that theelection in Cambodia took place in a free, fair, accurate,transparent and non-violent manner.
Earlier, observers fromthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also expressedsatisfaction about the election process at a press briefing on late July28.
However, the CNRP has rejected the election’s preliminary results.
Public opinions are concerned that the opposition CNRP is taking somemoves that go beyond the limit of the law, such as calling fordemonstrations and boycott of the opening ceremony of the new NationalAssembly.
The CNRP has also refused to take part in the NEC’s joint working group to review their own petitions.
Not stopping there, the CNRP has used political tricks imbuedwith extreme nationalism, causing dangerous repercussions for thedevelopment of Cambodia itself and negative effect on the regionalsolidarity.
Specifically, Sam Rainsy, the CNRP leader, hasmade provocative statements that distort history and cause harm to theVietnam-Cambodia relationship.
Besides his slanderousallegation that Vietnam transgressed Cambodia’s territory, SamRainsy blatantly said in an interview granted to the Hong Kong-basedPhoenix Television which was later quoted by BBC on August 4 that “All islands that China is protecting belong to China ”.
His groundless statements ran counter to the foreign policy that lookstoward peace and stability pursued by Southeast Asian diplomats.
The undeniable truth here is that Vietnam has sufficient legalground and historical evidence to prove its undisputable sovereignty overHoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.
Vietnam has consistently pursued the policy of resolving East Seadisputes through peaceful means on the basis of international law,especially the 1982 United Nation Convention on the Law of theSea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
This is not the first time Sam Rainy has made remarks that disregard both international law and history.
Earlier, Sam Rainsy was sentenced to 10 years in prison in hisabsence for spreading misleading information and vandalising publicproperties after he uprooted six temporary boundary markers at theVietnam-Cambodia border line in 2009. He has just returned to Cambodiaafter King Norodom Sihamoni granted him amnesty at the proposal ofPrime Minister Hun Sen. Sam Rainsy’s groundless statement did harm tothe Vietnam-Cambodia friendship which has been nurtured for years as avaluable asset of the two nations.
Vietnam hashelped the Cambodian people to escape from genocide, overthrow thegenocidal Pol Pot regime and revive the country. CNRP’s rhetoricquestioning Vietnam’s contribution to the struggle against the PolPot regime cannot change this historical truth.
Rainsy’sstatements which are full of political calculations and take advantageof the election to incite Cambodian people, in any circumstances, arenot true, thus surely courting defeat.
PM Hun Sen hasaffirmed that right at the most dangerous moment for Cambodia, it isVietnam that spared no sacrifice to come to Cambodian people’s aid.The Cambodian people are very grateful for this.
The Party,State and people of Vietnam always hope that the friendlyneighbourliness and long-lasting comprehensive cooperation betweenVietnam and Cambodia will continue developing under the motto of"good neighbours, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation,long-lasting stability" between the two countries.
ACambodia of stability and prosperity will benefit Cambodia peopleas well as regional peace. As PM Hun Sen has said, the country needs tounite and the people need to reach consensus for national stability andcontinued development.-VNA