1993 Cambodian general election
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General elections were held in
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
between 23 and 28 May 1993. The result was a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
with the
FUNCINPEC Party The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...
being the largest party with 58 seats. Voter turnout was 89.56%.Widyono (2008), p. 124 The elections were conducted by the
United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) ar, سلطة الأمم المتحدة الانتقالية في كمبوديا, italics=off zh, , italics=offfrench: Autorité provisoire des Nations unies au Cambodgerussian: Орг ...
(UNTAC), which also maintained peacekeeping troops in Cambodia throughout the election and the period after it. They remain the last elections won by a party other than the
Cambodian People's Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ...
, which began to dominate Cambodian politics from 1998.


Background

The State of Cambodia (SOC) and three warring factions of the Cambodian resistance consisting of
FUNCINPEC The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...
,
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
and
Khmer People's National Liberation Front The Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF, km, រណសិរ្សរំដោះជាតិប្រជាជនខ្មែរ) was a political front organized in 1979 in opposition to the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of ...
(KPNLF) signed the
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...
in October 1991. The accords provides for the establishment of the UNTAC, a United Nations-led interim administration that would supervise the demobilization of troops from the SOC and the three warring factions, and also conduct democratic elections in 1993. The UNTAC was formed at the end of February 1992, and
Yasushi Akashi Yasushi Akashi (明石 康 ''Akashi Yasushi'', born January 19, 1931 in Hinai, Akita Prefecture) is a senior Japanese diplomat and United Nations administrator. Overview Akashi graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of ...
was appointed as head of the UNTAC. In August 1992, the UNTAC administration promulgated the election law, and conducted the provisional registration of political parties. Political parties that were registered were allowed to open party offices the following month. The following year in January 1993, registration of electorate was carried out, and UNTAC identity cards were issued. The UNTAC conducted a civic education campaign in February 1993,Widyono (2008), p. 117 and two months later the UNTAC allowed political parties to hold public meetings and rallies to campaign for votes.


Pre-election challenges


Demobilisation

When UN peacekeepers were sent in to commence on demobilisation in June 1992, the Khmer Rouge set up road blocks in territories under their control to prevent peacekeepers from entering. When the incidents were reported to the then-UN secretary-general
Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...
, he sent a personal appeal to
Khieu Samphan Khieu Samphan ( km, ខៀវ សំផន; born 28 July 1931) is a Cambodian former communist politician and economist who was the chairman of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as ...
to let peacekeepers conduct demobilisation. The Khmer Rouge leadership responded by demanding that day-to-day administration should be handed over an administrative body headed by
Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...
, and also alleged that continued presence of Vietnamese troops in Cambodia did not warrant demobilisation. As the Khmer Rouge insisted on not participating in demobilisation, Sihanouk called on the UNTAC to isolate the Khmer Rouge from participating in any future peace-making initiatives. The Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF), Armee Nationale Sihanoukiste (ANS, also informally known as the FUNCINPEC army) and
Khmer People's National Liberation Front The Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF, km, រណសិរ្សរំដោះជាតិប្រជាជនខ្មែរ) was a political front organized in 1979 in opposition to the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of ...
participated in the mobilisation exercises, although young and untrained recruits were sent to participate while non-servicing weapons were presented to the peacekeeping troops. When the Khmer Rouge continued to resist demobilisation efforts, UNTAC decided to suspend the entire mobilisation exercise in September 1992, during which about 50,000 soldiers from the CPAF, ANS and KPNLF have disarmed.


Violent attacks

The Khmer Rouge started to carry out a series of attacks on Vietnamese civilians from April 1992, which they justified by claiming that there were Vietnamese soldiers disguised as civilians. In February 1993, the Khmer Rouge carried out an attack at a tourist center in
Siem Reap Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...
, which killed two Cambodians and injured a Portuguese tourist, Caesar DePaço. In March 1993, the Khmer Rouge carried out the largest attack on Vietnamese civilians in the floating village of Chong Kneas in Siem Reap Province which claimed the lives of 124 Vietnamese civilians. The Khmer Rouge had provided tacit forewarning prior to the attack, but neither SOC troops not UNTAC peacekeepers were deployed. When the attack was published in the press, it triggered about 20,000 Vietnamese to flee to Vietnam the following month in April 1993. The CPAF also carried out clandestine attacks on the party offices belonging to FUNCINPEC and BLDP starting in November 1992. The attacks were carried out at night, and soldiers would fire grenades or rockets. The number of incidents were reduced in January 1993, but picked up again in March 1993 until the eve of elections in May 1993. The attacks left about 200 political workers killed or injured by May 1993.


Results

The voting process was carried out between 23 and 28 May 1993. Most of the voting stations were based in school buildings and Buddhist pagodas to reduce costs. The election was staffed by some 50,000 Cambodians and 900 international volunteers as well as an additional 1,400 United Nation officers which served as polling station observers. The counting of votes started on 29 May and lasted until 10 June. The results were declared by Akashi, and five days later the UN security council endorsed the election results with Security Council Resolution 840.


Aftermath

On 31 May 1993, the CPP filed a complaint with Akashi over claims of irregularities in the elections. When Akashi dismissed CPP's complaints, Hun Sen and
Chea Sim Chea Sim ( km, ជា ស៊ីម; 15 November 19328 June 2015) was a Cambodian politician. He was President of the Cambodian People's Party from 1991 to 2015, President of the National Assembly of Cambodia from 1981 to 1998 (Vice President fr ...
suggested to Sihanouk to assume full executive powers as the Head of State of the country. Sihanouk accepted the initiative, and issued a declaration on 3 June that he would assume the position as the Head of State of Cambodia. The ministries would be divided between FUNCINPEC and CPP on a fifty-fifty basis. FUNCINPEC president Ranariddh, as well as several countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and China opposed the initiative. The US charged that Sihanouk's initiative would violate the spirit of the election as well as the terms set in the Paris Peace Accords. The following day, Sihanouk abandoned the initiative to assume full executive powers. One week later on 10 June, Hun Sen announced that seven eastern provinces, all bordering Vietnam had seceded from Cambodia under the leadership of then-Deputy Prime Minister
Norodom Chakrapong Norodom Chakrapong (born 21 October 1945) is a Cambodian politician, businessman and former major-general of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. He is the fourth son of Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and also a half-brother of the current king, N ...
and then-Interior Minister Sin Song. Hun Sen avoided supporting the secession attempt publicly, but accused the United Nations of creating electoral fraud to precipitate CPP's defeat in the election. Chakrapong and Sin Song attacked political offices belonging to FUNCINPEC and BLDP in the provinces, and also issued orders for UNTAC officials to leave the provinces under their control. An emergency National Assembly meeting was initiated on 14 June where Sihanouk was re-instated as the Head of State, with Ranariddh and Hun Sen appointed as co-prime ministers with equal levels of executive powers. When Hun Sen issued a letter to Akashi to declare his support for continued UNTAC's interim administration, Chakrapong and Sin Song dropped the secessionist threats. For the next three months, Sihanouk presided over an interim administration. He tendered his resignation on 21 September, and re-assumed the office of the
King of Cambodia The monarchy of Cambodia is the head of state of the Cambodia, Kingdom of Cambodia. In the contemporary period, the King's power has been limited to that of a symbolic figurehead. The monarchy had been in existence since at least 68 AD exce ...
two days later on 23 September 1993.Widyono (2008), p. 130


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* {{Cambodian elections 1993 in Cambodia Elections in Cambodia
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...