Chheang Vun
Says Rainsy Will Be Allowed Lawmaker Position
CPP
lawmaker Chheang Vun on Friday said the door was open for opposition party
president Sam Rainsy to become a lawmaker during the government’s fifth
mandate, even though his parliamentary immunity has not yet been restored and
he was not a candidate in last month’s national election.
Speaking
to reporters at a press conference held at the National Assembly, Mr. Vun said
Mr. Rainsy would be allowed to stand as a lawmaker after the next registration
period for lawmakers opens in October and if another CNRP lawmaker agrees to
resign in his place.
“Of
course His Excellency [Sam Rainsy] can be a member of the National Assembly in
the fifth mandate through the Law on the Election of Members of the National
Assembly,” he said, referring to the recently amended Article 118 of the law.
Mr.
Rainsy was not a candidate in the July 28 election because he was a convicted
criminal at the time the party’s candidate list was submitted to the National
Election Committee. But if one of the CNRP’s current elected National Assembly
members resigns, along with all of its reserve candidates in a given
constituency, Mr. Rainsy can take a seat in Parliament.
“After
registration, his party’s candidates—both full candidates and reserve
candidates—must all resign if they want His Excellency Sam Rainsy to appear on
the candidate list,” Mr. Vun said.
Mr.
Vun’s remarks came after senior CPP lawmaker and de facto party spokesman Cheam
Yeap said last week that Mr. Rainsy had “no chance” of working as a lawmaker at
the National Assembly in the fifth mandate.
Mr.
Vun added that any decision to re-instate Mr. Rainsy as a lawmaker would not be
a matter of compromise between the ruling CPP and CNRP, since there are already
provisions in the law for such an eventuality.
Also
Friday, Mr. Vun welcomed a decision made earlier in the day by the
Constitutional Council of Cambodia to open sealed election documents showing
the number of votes cast at each polling station. The CNRP has said the sealed
documents must be consulted for a credible investigation into irregularities to
go ahead.
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