Here’s a rundown of the most notable election-related information, events and public statements, collected in the week to July 11, 2023.
July 11: The National Election Committee released a statement in response to “social media” posts affirming that the amendments to Article 42 of the Election Law can be wielded against individuals who encourage people to spoil their ballots, and punishable with 5 million to 20 million riel fine, or up to around $5,000.
In a voice message, Hun Sen said he had ordered Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng to use up to 350 buses to give people free transportation to their polling stations across the country.
July 10: On the seventh anniversary of political commentator Kem Ley’s assassination, a group of youth activists gathered at the Phnom Penh Caltex station where he was killed and poured fake blood on themselves to represent his death. Although a man was jailed for Ley’s murder at the time, the killing was widely considered politically motivated, with his funeral march attended by tens of thousands of Cambodians.
Along with several other civil society figures, Cambodian Youth Network cofounder Sar Mory tweeted a remembrance of Ley, noting his “optimism, independence, and heroism.”
July 9: Candlelight Party youth activist Thol Samnang tried to seek asylum in Thailand on July 3, Human Rights Watch told news outlet CamboJA, after local authorities reportedly visited his home in Tropeang Chuok village over critical Facebook posts. But Thai authorities arrested him less than a week later on July 9, prompting U.N. lawyers in Thailand to try to intervene. Thailand does not have laws in place to protect refugees and has an extradition treaty with Cambodia.
Hun Sen meanwhile urged the U.S. not to send cluster bombs in the Ukraine war in a tweet, saying “the real victims will be Ukranianians” and pointing out that thousands of Cambodians suffered — and continue to suffer — after the U.S. used cluster munitions in Cambodia in the 1970s.
July 8: As part of his ongoing push to get followers across new platforms after deleting his Facebook, Hun Sen posted on his inactive Twitter account for the first time in more than a year, tweeting the first of three photos of himself in rapid succession and urging people to follow him across Twitter, Telegram and TikTok. He also posted a voice note in his Telegram channel to urge people to follow him.
July 7: The National Election Committee called on all business owners, hotels, factories and other employers to help their workers get to the polling stations on July 23. “To ensure our populace can exercise their legitimate rights, we ask all proprietors of businesses, factories, hotels, restaurants, and other establishments across the Kingdom to ease the way for their employees to vote in the election,” the NEC said.
July 6: The Ministry of Interior instructed microfinance institutions, pawn shops and other lenders to return ID cards that they had taken as collateral for loans in order for borrowers to vote. On the same day, Interior Minister Sar Kheng hosted an election event in Prey Veng and urged people to vote, saying that the election “supports and exercises the democracy that has laid a solid foundation in Cambodia since 1993,” according to the Phnom Penh Post.
See more data updates about this year’s election here.