No Government Measure to Help Migrant Workers Vote in the Upcoming Commune Elections

Photo shows Cambodian migrant workers returning from Thailand before Khmer New Year in April 2022. Photo from General Commissariat of National Police

The Cambodian government has no plan to help them come home to vote or do so while outside the country



PHNOM PENH—The Cambodian authorities say no measures are being taken to help migrant workers vote in the commune elections as civil society representatives call on the government for voter assistance for the June commune elections and for legislation prior to the 2023 national elections.     



At this point, migrant workers who decide to take time off work to vote at home would face financial hardship they cannot afford plus the high costs of travelling and restrictions at their workplaces, said Dy Thehoya, program officer at the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights.



So, there is a high possibility that they will not exercise their right to vote because they cannot afford to do so, he said. “Migration is a choice, but if this is a risky and forced migration, it reflects the negative situation in society.



“We should make sure they can vote,” he said, as this is their country.



Political commentator Seng Sary said that Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand can only sustain their daily life and send some savings to their families in Cambodia to support them and pay debts.



Most workers fall into debt due to traveling expenses to get to Thailand or to pay for shelter near their workplace, while also trying to send money home, he said. Returning to Cambodia to vote might cost them 7,000 Baht or roughly $250 in transport, which is equivalent to a one-month salary for some workers.



“Is it possible for one individual to spend their salary of one month to vote,” Sary asked. “So, there should be a policy for them to vote outside the country.”



More than two million Cambodians are working in Thailand, which may represent a vast political force for the political parties participating in the upcoming commune elections and the 2023 national elections, he said.



And yet, few political parties seem to pay attention to this group of people, Sary said. While the ruling party seems to encourage work outside the country as this can contribute to the national budget, the Candlelight Party does not include a migration-related policy in the party’s vision, he said.



“Cambodian politicians seem to overlook this political force,” Sary said. “If they have specific policies for them, they can secure this big group of voters and will likely succeed in the elections.”



According to the Ministry of Labor, migrant workers sent more than $3 billion in remittances back to their families in 2021, a significant increase from the $1.2 billion recorded by the National Bank of Cambodia in 2020 and the $1.5 billion reported in 2019.



“While those migrant workers help get money for the nation, they should be given enough right to vote to choose the rightful leader in Cambodia to improve the country,” Seng Sary said.



He added that it is regretful that more than 2 million Cambodians are helping to stimulate the economy of Thailand, rather than having the opportunity to directly contribute to the economic growth of Cambodia.



The Cambodian Authorities Have no Plan to Help Cambodians Abroad Vote, a Government Official Says



According to Cambodian government spokesperson Phy Siphan, the upcoming commune elections are meant for Cambodians in Cambodia, and those who are working or studying overseas are less likely to be beneficial to these local areas.



The Cambodian authorities don’t have any plan for measures or actions to help migrant workers vote: Those workers have to return to Cambodia and cast their votes at the polling stations where they have registered, he said.



“The NEC [National Election Committee] operates on the territory of Cambodian sovereignty: They do not yet have the right to operate the election process on the international stage,” Siphan said.



Hang Puthea, a spokesperson for the NEC, said that the committee only carries out its activities in accordance with the law. However, the NEC has worked with the Cambodian embassies in foreign countries to urge Cambodians working or studying overseas to come back to Cambodia to vote, he said.



“If the NEC would organize polling stations outside Cambodia, the NEC would be violating the law,” Puthea said, adding that NEC only enforces the law. According to the law for the upcoming commune elections, “[e]ach voter registration station shall become a polling station when the election is conducted, and a vote-count station when the votes are counted,” as stated in Article 32 of Law on the Election of Commune/Sangkat Council.



When asked whether the NEC has considered helping migrant workers vote such as enabling online voting or voting via mail, Puthea responded that this would not be possible because too much would need to be done. “We see that some developed countries have online voting or voting via post offices, but the political parties [in Cambodia] still do not trust each other,” he said.



While it may be too late for major measures prior to the June 22 commune elections, the Cambodian authorities might be able to set up voting stations at Cambodian embassies or create an online voting system, political commentator Seng Sary said.



And the Cambodian government could consider legislation for the 2023 national elections to enable out-of-the country Cambodian voters to cast their votes, he said. 



But in the meantime, the Thai and Cambodian governments could work together to assist Cambodian workers in Thailand to go home to vote, said Dy Thehoya of CENTRAL. Both governments could help them get work leave and affordable travel rates so they could go home to vote, he said.



Because making sure that all Cambodians entitled to vote can do so is crucial, he said. “If the leader is not chosen by the citizens, we won’t be provided with a better social service,” Thehoya said.



At the present time, more than 1.3 million Cambodian workers are working abroad, according to a report of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. Among them, 1.2 million Cambodians are working in Thailand, more than 45,000 in South Korea, 23,000 in Malaysia, 11,000 in Japan, more than 800 in Singapore, 200 in Hong Kong and 43 in Saudi Arabia, the report stated.



Between 1.8 million and 2 million Cambodian migrant workers, both documented and undocumented, are working in industries in Thailand ranging from construction, food processing and electronics, to fishing, agriculture, services and domestic work, according to the report released by CENTRAL. However, only about 300,000 workers have traveled and sought jobs through the memorandum of understanding on migrant work agreed upon between the two countries.


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