Cambodia Legislatives Elections

On Sunday July 29, 2013 from 7AM to 3PM the Cambodian people had votes in great number for the representatives to the 123 members National Assembly. The month long campaign went smoothly and only one incident was reported at the Stung Mean Chey voting place in Phnom Penh where arrest was made and 2 Gendarmerie vehicles were burned by angry voters.

At 8:30PM Phnom Penh time, the Election committee announced the preliminary unofficial results saying that the CPP won with 68 seats over the Opposition CNRP with 55 seats. The CNRP protested. Their number: 62 for CNRP, and 61 for CPP. Will see... Any way it is the victory for Democracy, with scores of people taking the street in unprecedented number cheering the return of the opposition leader. Now the fear factor begin to fade away ...

Cambodia will survive!!

From Blue Lady Blog:

While I am writing this, the midnight has already passed, and today is July 28th, 2013 (Sunday). To a lot of people, today is a day of hope because they can go and cast their votes for the leaders they have a strong conviction that will change the future of Cambodia and rescue the next generations in Cambodia.

Every 5 years, Cambodians vote for the top leaders, so a new government has a 5 year mandate. For the record, there are 123 seats to the national assembly and 62 seats are needed for a majority (for a winning party to win and rule the country). This Wikipedia article gives some good basic information about the Cambodian general elections 2013. From 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, Cambodia saw many competing political parties in the general elections, but exceptionally this year has seen only 8 parties, and the National Election Committee has registered more than 9 million voters.

Since earlier this year, so much has happened in preparation for just one day, today. I really mean it when I said all these happenings have caused a lot of headache, concern and distress among Cambodians as well as international communities. But, everything that’s been happening will surely have a direct impact on Cambodians that live here. Here are things that have recently happened and caught everyone’s attention till now.

Powerful Facebook

Facebook has been considered as one of the most powerful tools played in Cambodian politics these days. It connects Cambodians from around Cambodia and with other people in other countries.

It was earlier a place where young people went to seek entertainment and dating, but that is not the case anymore. A small potion of our economy is also running there. For example, big companies with brands are running their campaigns on Facebook.

Non-government organizations show off their mission and vision to get support and seek more help. Individuals look for business and study opportunities, fame, fans and attention from other Facebookers who could easily relate to and sympathize with them.

More news shared on Facebook

At the same time, more videos and information related to crimes, traffic accidents, social injustice such as land eviction/grabbing and countless other cruel acts have been tirelessly shared among circles of friends and friends of friends. It was reported that some people who usually watched TV for news have switched to Facebook to get unbiased and more reliable news.

When late King Father passed away in October last year, many people took to Facebook to grieve for him. I was one of the people who witnessed so much love from his fans and some constructive analysis over his past achievements and legacy.

Warming up before elections

Everything went back to normal. Some random news related to traffic accidents and social injustice were posted, and young people and Facebook were kept busy. And, then i was contacted by a Phnom Penh Post reporter about a statement that NEC released in late May. which asked social media users not to spread rumors or inaccurate information. The story was printed with quite a big picture of myself.