Meas Sokchea and Rosa Ellen
The Phnom Penh Post
The Cambodian National Rescue Party is
one step closer to its ambition of running in next year’s election
after it was approved by the Ministry of Interior last week, but the newly formed opposition party faces more hurdles if self-exiled party co-founder Sam Rainsy is to lead it.
In an official letter signed by
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng, the CNRP was told
its request to register as a political entity had been given the green
light and could now be considered for registration in the next election
by the National Election Committee.
Headquartered on street 1972 in
Phnom Penh Thmey’s commune of the capital’s Sen Sok district, the CNRP
must now fulfil the requirements of the country’s Political Party Law.
“To achieve validity, the
National Rescue Party must complete the forms and conditions as stated
in Article 20, Chapter 5 of the law on political parties,” Sar Kheng’s
letter stated.
This includes registering party officials and members.
Tep Nytha, secretary-general of National Election Committee, said he welcomed the newly formed CNRP, but it could not be recognised if the party’s head candidate was a convicted criminal.
“So, if such a case arrived at the NEC … [we] have the right to cancel the name from the candidate list.”
CNRP representative Pol Ham
would only say that Sam Rainsy’s leadership was being discussed but that
the first step of approval meant the Ministry of Interior had complied
with the formation of the new party and that a CNRP emblem would soon be
released, vowing the party would have no trouble collecting the
thumbprints of 4,000 members.
Koul Panha, executive director
for the Committee of Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said the new
party would be challenged to raise funds and educate voters about its
policies before the 2013 poll.
“Because if they had merged,
everything could be brought together, but this [the Cambodian National
Rescue Party] is not a merger. I think that is the challenge,” he said.
As well as funds, which NRP
reports on its website to have reached $51,000 since the party was
announced, Koul said the new party could find it hard to make its
presence felt in logos and visual campaigns.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “They’ll face some conflict or severe arguments to put their logos up.”
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