Election Fever

Considering they are only held on average every 4 years, I do seem to end up in capital cities when they are having an election. It’s happened in Mexico City and Quito (Ecuador) amongst others. Mexico City had a tent city erupt at its heart as the result was disputed, I wandered through the tent city – it had a carnival atmosphere. A couple of days later, there were shootings and mass violence. Well here in Phnom Penh – its election time. The current prime minister Hun Sen, has held the post since elections were introduced in 1984. He is one of the worlds longest serving prime minister, although the U.N. have accused him of corruption, using torture and not holding fair elections. The main opposition party have been without a leader (Sam Rainsy) since he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for printing maps with a disputed Cambodia / Vietnam border – he claims Hun Sen has been giving land to Vietnam. Anyway he has been living in exile in France rather than in jail. 1 week before the election, Hun Sen allows him to be given a royal pardon and he arrives back in the country to a massive fanfare from his supporters, though none of this is broadcast on the news.

Cambodians are very political and love showing their support for their particular party. Rainsy supporters have been going wild and the streets of Phonm Penh have been brought to a standstill every night as massive rallies weave through, making any sort of travelling impossible. These parades are made up of people in trucks blasting load speakers but mostly are consisting of people on motorbikes, two or three to a bike, waving flags and banners. I was sat at a street side restaurant, having my evening meal, when a rally went past. They are not slow moving, they travel at speed, yet it was 40 minutes before the final vehicle passed. Not to be outdone, the other party, the main party, also have spectacular gatherings. There are three parties and each leader has been travelling around the country in even huger conveys gathering support. If you get stuck behind one, you are going nowhere. A couple I met had an extra 6 hours added to their 7 hour journey because they got stuck behind one of these. All sensible people are getting out of Phnom Penh (the capital) whilst its still possible. To add to the traffic chaos, Cambodians can not vote anywhere. They can only vote in their hometown. The weekend of the election is predicted to be local transport madness as everyone rushes home. The vote is held today, Sunday 28th July. On both Saturday and Sunday, the drinking of alcohol is illegal, even in western style guesthouses serving foreign tourists. Alot of businesses have closed, so staff can travel and in my particular guesthouse, they are having problems with the menu as they have run out of alot of fresh food and nowhere is open to buy more. These are very minor inconveniences but unfortunately I am predicting worse to come, and as such, I have made sure I am out of the capital. I am currently in a sleepy coastal town. There is a good chance when the results come in and the opposition lose they will begin to riot. Because of the release of their leader, they believe they have a chance. This party is very anti-Vietnamese and racial tensions are also on the brink of exploding. So I am going to sit relaxing on my terrace, watching the world go by, catching up on my reading and drinking chocolate milkshakes. I am hoping that the next few days in Cambodia won’t be as messy as I think they will be.