Cambodia Elections: Khmer Anti-Poverty Party (KAPP) vies for more seats

Cambodia: After having lobbied Brussels, the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party (KAPP) applied for membership in the largest world-wide network of political parties

Coming Sunday, 29 July, the population in Cambodia will elect its new national parliament. The international community has criticized the authoritarian government of the Prime Minister and his CPP. Fearing that the elections would not be fair, the European Union refused to send election observers.

Nevertheless, the KAPP, and up to now a small opposition party, acted on two levels:

One: they were heavily present in Brussels and Washington to put their country higher on the political agenda and to inform about the social conflicts and the fierce repression of any protest, which have created an atmosphere of change. Two: They put forward candidates in all the provinces of the country and managed an intensive grass roots election campaign.

According to unofficial polling, the KAPP is expecting to get a significant number of seats.

“Anti-Poverty Party” — the name reveals its program. Therefore, they contacted the most powerful world-wide network of parties to become a member. In a letter of Daran Kravanh, the KAPP president, their determination was outlined, to join the Berlin-based Progressive Alliance (PA). This international network of social-democratic and progressive forces from all over the world was only founded five years ago, nevertheless it already has more than 140 member parties and organizations in all the continents.

Daran Kravanh expects a positive answer from the PA later this year, making the KAPP a member of the family of parties which fight for freedom, justice and solidarity.