Shutting Doors

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Cambodia is to pass a law that will ban those who fail to vote from running as candidates in future polls, a move that aims to marginalize the ruling party’s opponents little more than a month before the country’s general election, the Associated Press reported.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the amendment to the electoral law is necessary to ensure that candidates for public office demonstrate their civic responsibilities.

But the draft legislation is seen to be targeting exiled opposition politicians in order to prevent them from running in future elections. Many opposition leaders have fled the country to avoid being jailed on what they call trumped-up and unfair charges.

Meanwhile, the bill will also target local political opponents to discourage them from boycotting elections.

The bill is expected to pass in parliament, which is currently dominated by Hun’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

The prime minister’s announcement came less than a month after Cambodian election authorities banned the main opposition Candlelight Party from participating in the upcoming July 23 election.

The National Election Committee said the party did not provide all of the paperwork required for registration. The Candlelight Party countered that it couldn’t provide the documentation because it was seized in a police raid years ago.

Cambodia’s Constitutional Council refused to overturn the committee’s decision, prompting criticism locally and internationally that the July elections will not be fair.