More than forty officials from the Candlelight Party (CP) held a three-day workshop in Siem Reap province to draft policies in preparation for contesting next year’s national election.
CP spokesman Thach Setha said the meeting, which began on September 8, was held to examine the challenges that the party had encountered during the June 5 commune council elections. The party would draft its policies in response to these challenges, he said.
“There were many challenges that CP officials faced during the 2022 commune council election,” he said, claiming that those challenges involving being threatened by security and the revoking of ID Poor cards from party members.
Setha said the meeting had not yet fixed any policies, but expected a draft to be prepared by the end of the meeting, on September 10.
In a video clip shared by the party’s vice-president Son Chhay on September 8, CP officials vowed to do whatever it could to protect Cambodian territory and follow the principles of a multi-party democracy.
Sok Eysan, spokesman for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, said that it was not a matter of what the CP officials swore they would do, as to do it they would have to defeat the CPP – something he could not see them ever managing.
