Boycott May Lead to Fines

October 10, 2016

Boycott May Lead to Fines

 Monday, 10 October 2016

Opposition members of the National Assembly may soon have their pay and expenses docked if they continue their months-long boycott of the sessions.

The Parliamentary Permanent Committee is thinking of amending the National Assembly’s internal regulations to include disciplinary articles concerning members who boycott sessions, including possibly docking their pay and expenses.

Chheang Vun, a spokesperson for the majority Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) at the National Assembly, said a proposal was made last month to conduct an in-depth study into fining MPs who boycott sessions or “use inappropriate words.”

“The decision to modify the internal regulations requires a 50 percent plus one vote only. So the CPP members have enough votes to do so,” he told Khmer Times.

“I think the reason for the opposition’s boycott is just an excuse, as they just want to waste time,” he added.

Ou Chanrith, the vice-president of the assembly commission that will likely conduct the study, and a member of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Yem Ponhearith, a spokesman for minor parties at the National Assembly, said they would oppose any additional disciplinary articles since the current internal regulations are enough.

“There is no need for any change to the regulations that are written already,” he said.

At a press conference at the CNRP party headquarters in Phnom Penh on Friday, party spokesperson Yim Sovann insisted that MPs not attending sessions did not mean that they were boycotting their duties as a whole, and said they would continue such actions as summoning government officials for questioning over their conduct.

While the CNRP had suggested it would start attending sessions again last week, its members were not present at Friday’s session due to vague safety fears, said Mr. Sovann.

“The latest information we got from our source is that there would be threats to us if we entered the parliament on that day. For the following sessions, we will consider to join if it’s necessary.”

Sok Eysan, the CPP spokesperson, dismissed the CNRP’s claims as simply an excuse aimed at negotiating the release of their members now in prison.

“This is just an excuse by the CNRP,” he said, calling on foreign governments not to listen to the claims.

The CNRP boycott started in late May after security forces attempted to arrest deputy leader Kem Sokha after he refused to attend questioning at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over an alleged affair.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the time that the National Assembly would be able to continue working normally with or without the opposition members.

On Friday, he took a more conciliatory position, writing on his Facebook page that the assembly is where both parties meet and work and it was best for the nation if they sat down and discussed their issues.