By our Phnom Penh correspondent

The State of Cambodia (SoC) government, through its political organisation, the Cambodian Peoples Party, has stated that it will seek coalition partners even if it wins an absolute majority in the May elections. When pressed at a recent press conference, a spokesperson declined to name possible alliances but excluded the Khmer Rouge.

Membership of the CPP was claimed to be “nearly 2 million” out of a total 4.7-4.8 million electors enrolled; the party was aiming for 57% of the voting population to join the party. As well, the CPP is expecting 10% of non-members to vote for it; many senior party people expect an absolute majority although, privately, some concede that they may not get these numbers.

I know of active members of other political parties who have taken out CPP membership if only to keep relations smooth. As well, this represents “a bet each way” by people not sure of the future -- something that could be seen as a typical aspect of Cambodian politics.

The CPP announced that it is preparing for the start of the election campaign; its ballot-paper symbol has appeared at government offices and on billboards throughout the country and in the state and party media. Police even wear the logo on their uniforms.

The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) has stated that this puts “other parties at a disadvantage”. It will soon start granting access to Radio UNTAC to all officially registered parties as part of an “information” campaign. Then there will be a short formal campaign from April 7 till May 19 and a four-day “cooling-off period” before the elections.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has directed the Cambodian Peoples Armed Forces to refrain from military action in the lead-up to the election. The government stated that if the Khmer Rouge do not assault government positions, then it will not launch attacks.

However, in Stung district of Kompong Thom province, three villages were taken over by KR forces -- some 200-300 troops of 616 Division -- on February 18 and houses burnt and families displaced.

On February 20, CPAF forces retook the villages and were conducting searches for arms caches. No casualties have been reported from these actions, and the manoeuvring can be seen as trials of strength.

Some elements in the government concede that the area where these actions have been taking place is lightly populated and may not be worth defending, especially if troops have to be brought in from adjacent provinces, as was the case last week.

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