The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “NEC preliminary results show little change” plus 9 more

THE National Election Committee released preliminary results this morning confirming a ruling party win and with no significant changes in the number of votes won by each party.

The results were released province by province and seats were not calculated. But the difference between the early preliminaries and this final set was minimal, amounting to no more than a hundred votes in most provinces.

In Kandal, the province where the opposition party stood the best chance of gaining an additional seat (fewer than 900 votes would have swung it), the party saw a bump of less than 500.

The biggest change was in Takeo, where the Cambodia National Rescue Party received 890 additional votes and the Cambodian People's Party gained 1,694 votes. In Kratie, the CPP saw a bump of 1,532 votes, and the CNRP 297.

The CNRP has blasted the CPP's claim to have won 68 seats to its 55 and said their results – which have yet to be released - show a 63 seat majority. The party maintains that it saw gains in Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kandal, Kratie, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

A separate election irregularities investigation committee, jointly run by the CNRP and CPP and employing NGOs remains pending.

Normally, the threats happen before the election – this election is very different from the previous election.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng sat down with representatives from 10 civil society organisations on Friday for what Cambodian Center for Human Rights president Ou Virak described as a "very frank discussion" of how to handle the investigation into the multitude of alleged irregularities in last month's national election.

According to Virak, who attended the meeting, civil society made a handful of key recommendations and proposed an ad hoc investigative body led by the Cambodian People's Party and the Cambodia National Rescue Party, with limited involvement from the National Election Committee, and civil society conducting the investigation and offering technical assistance.

"We recommended the UN is involved in some capacity, but mainly, at the very least, as an observer. But Mr Sar Kheng agreed that civil society should be involved, which is positive," Virak said yesterday.

"He did say that [the body] had to be within the legal framework, which would mean the NEC would have to be involved," he added. "We agreed that the NEC could be involved in moderating, but not in dictating the investigation.... But in the mechanisms that we push for, there needs to be a consensus, and the real power should lay with the two parties."

Though no concrete decisions were arrived at, Virak said the talks were "quite friendly in many ways".

"To me, it was almost like a breakthrough, where we could actually talk about the ideas," he said. "On many things, [Kheng] said he would agree; on many things, he said he would consider it – that many of our recommendations were reasonable enough."

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kheng confirmed that he agreed with the proposal that a joint investigative committee be created.

The NEC, however, said it won't be waiting for any investigation, and that preliminary election results will be announced today, after which parties will have a 72-hour window to file complaints.

The CNRP has stated that the NEC taking a leadership role in any investigative body would defeat the purpose of an investigation, while the NEC, for its part, has maintained that only it has the legal authority to rule on irregularities. However, Koul Panha, executive director of the election watchdog Comfrel, said yesterday that the election law "does not prohibit independent investigation".

"They [the NEC] are the ones who are also part of the problem in these election irregularities. That is why they should allow an independent investigation," he said. "In the law, the NEC has no mechanism to investigate or understand the scale of severe irregularities that affect the election result. So that's why this is something new."

The NEC, he added, should then consider the findings and determine whether certain measures, including the possibility of holding new votes in certain precincts, should be undertaken.

Ruling party lawmaker Cheam Yeap also said any investigative committee must include the NEC.

"The constitution has stated that only the NEC has the right to organise everything related to the election throughout the country," he said. "We cannot discard the NEC."

But CNRP chief whip Son Chhay maintained yesterday that the NEC's role should be limited to providing all necessary election-related documents, and that allowing the NEC to decide on the validity of the investigative body's findings would be unacceptable.

"They are not a judge; they only accept [the result]," he said. "The NEC can't turn away and say, 'We don't believe in this', because then we all go in circles. The parties have to agree, the CPP and the CNRP have to agree that the result coming out from the investigation – the NEC must respect this result."

NEC secretary-general Tep Nytha, however, continued to express scepticism at the very idea of such an investigation yesterday.

"Forming this committee may be impossible based on the law," he said, noting that the release of official results had already been delayed too long. "If there is something with the results of the election that someone isn't content with, they can lodge a complaint about the temporary results to the Constitutional Council or the NEC within 72 hours of the announcement."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEN DAVID

Anti-drug police will deport an alleged American methamphetamine kingpin back to the US early this week in the wake of his Thursday arrest.

Christopher James Petersen, 38, has been in custody since he was arrested at his rented house in Phnom Penh's Wat Phnom commune at about 11:30am, said Major General Sok Chour, deputy director of the Ministry of Interior's anti-drug unit.

Petersen, who Chour described as a well-known drug trafficker from North Dakota, was subsequently charged with staying in Cambodia illegally after his passport was revoked.

Cambodian authorities were working in conjunction with US Drug Enforcement Agency agents based in Bangkok. Police said no drugs were found on Petersen when they arrested him.

Law enforcement in Phnom Penh took Petersen into custody about two months after a warrant out of Fargo, North Dakota, alleged he was part of a drug ring that distributed more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in North Dakota, Minnesota, California and other states, according to The Forum of Fargo-Moorehead newspaper.

He arrived in Cambodia on a tourist visa in May, Chour said. "We now are still working with the US Embassy in Cambodia in order to prepare for his expulsion from Cambodia," he added, saying Petersen's transfer to DEA agents will come early this week at Phnom Penh International Airport.

Petersen could not be reached for comment.

Two managers at LXR, a petrol company based in Kampong Cham province, were charged yesterday with stealing nearly 20,000 litres of petrol from the firm.

Kampong Siem district branch manager Sem Soeun, 39, and deputy manager Chea Socheath, 34, were arrested on Wednesday, according to Keo Sarith, a Phnom Penh municipal police officer.

"They were charged by the court with stealing," Sarith said. Both suspects are being held.

The two men were held responsible for losses from September 29 of last year through July, equivalent to $20,000, according to complaints filed with provincial police.

The accused and their defence lawyers could not be reached for comment yesterday.

While the alleged crime was committed in Kampong Cham, the duo's arrest last week took place in Phnom Penh's Por Sen Chey district.

They are now being held in Prey Sar prison, awaiting trial.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the lower courts' decisions in the breach-of-trust case of tycoon and "Crocodile Grandmother" Chhin Sokountheary and Kov Hong, saying the businesswoman had violated the terms of a land-swap contract and owed Hong $3 million.

According to the 2008 contract, Hong agreed to trade a hotel and real estate in Sihanoukville to Sokountheary for cash and pieces of real estate in Phnom Penh.

However, when the price of land dropped in 2009, and Sokountheary failed to make up the difference, the court ruled in Hong's favour.

Yesterday, Sokountheary's lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun, called the decision "unjust", saying that she had executed her end of the contract.

In an email, Sokountheary said she would seek Prime Minister Hun Sen's intervention.

Entertainment Gaming Asia Inc (EGA), a NASDAQ-listed company that supplies NagaWorld Casino with slot machines and operates casinos in Poipet town and Pailin province, reported a net loss of $385,000 from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2013, according to a statement from the company.

"Quarterly performance benefited from strong contribution from our operations in NagaWorld," Clarence Chung, chairman and chief executive officer of Entertainment Gaming Asia said on August 8. "However, overall results were negatively impacted by lower revenue and high non-recurring costs for the gaming products division primarily due to the relocation of the manufacturing facilities from Australia to Hong Kong during the quarter and a gross margin loss for Dreamworld Pailin."

Dreamworld Pailin, which opened in May of 2012 in the eponymous northwest province on the Cambodia-Thai border, saw revenues decline to $907,000 in the second quarter from $1.1 million in the first quarter.

The company attributed this to a decline in "player traffic levels", and is unfurling a revised strategy that focuses on VIP junkets and fewer tables.

"Dreamworld Pailin did not perform up to our expectations for the second quarter," Chung said in a conference call with investors on August 8, adding that the casino's financial performance "has been slow".

Aside from drawing more VIPs, EGA will reduce the number of playing tables from 26 to about 16 and will replace them with electronic gaming tables tailored to individual "mass market" gamblers.

The $7.5 million Dreamworld Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province that opened in May made small contributions to revenues, according to Chung.

"With eight existing casinos in operation, Poipet is an established and growing regional gaming market," he said. "Given Dreamworld Poipet's prominent location and targeted marketing program, we are focused on ramping up these operations".

NagaWorld slot machine profits provided the company with its greatest revenue from Cambodian gaming, contributing $3.7 million in revenue and an average of $256 per machine per day for the second quarter.

EGA attributes a chunk of its losses to the disruption of gaming product manufacturing. A chips and plaque manufacturing facility moved from Australia to Hong Kong during the second quarter of 2013, contributing to a decline.

EGA also has casino operations in the Philippines and has plans to open a Dreamworld casino in Kampot.

Total revenue before operating costs for the second quarter of 2013 was $5.8 million, a decrease of 5 per cent compared with $6.2 million in the second quarter of 2012.

Senior vice-president Traci Mangini did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the decrease in Dreamworld Pailin's player traffic and the future of the casino in Kampot, which is supposed to open some time in late 2013.

An April presentation posted on EGA's website details the company's plans for Dreamworld Kampot to be built near the Cambodia-Vietnam border. With an initial investment of about $1.2 million funded by EGA, construction was supposed to begin in the second half of this year.

Comment

The Cambodian economy is transforming rapidly. Most of the growth within the industrial and service sectors is located in urban areas, where labour and access to markets tend to be concentrated.

And the prospect of higher incomes and educational opportunities in the cities has encouraged increasing levels of youth migration.

This year's global theme for International Youth Day, "Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward", is therefore particularly apt.

Youth migration from rural to urban areas is both a factor and a result of growth and development. It is providing new avenues for rising out of poverty and connecting young people with job opportunities; but it also exposes some young people to certain risks.

One in three Cambodians are between 15 and 29 years old, and 300,000 young people enter the workforce every year. Also according to National Institute of Statistics figures, about a quarter of the total Cambodian population are internal migrants: people who have moved from their district of origin for at least three months.

Three quarters of them, about 2.5 million people, are youth aged 15 to 29.

Away from familiar surroundings and trusted people, young migrants unfortunately can be exposed to all kinds of threats, from violence and exploitation to substance abuse and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Labour migration also places youth at risk from criminals, including those involved in human trafficking.

The Cambodian Rural Urban Migration Project, developed by the Ministry of Planning with UN support, finds most migrant women are small business owners, or employed in garment factories or the entertainment and service industries.

Having moved away from their usual support networks at home, these female youth migrants may be exposed to sexual and reproductive health risks such as STIs and unwanted pregnancies, as well as gender-based violence.

In addition, many young female migrant workers have to leave their children behind in their villages, where they often receive less than optimum care.

On the other hand, the most common jobs for migrant men are in construction, day labouring and driving. They in turn may be exposed to amphetamine-type-stimulants (ATS) due to its perceived benefits in working longer hours.

Poor working conditions pose further risks, such as those associated with night work, heavy work, long hours and hot workplaces, as evidenced in a study by the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI).

Finally, the high mobility of migrating youth makes the provision of medical treatment and social counseling more difficult.

However, by making services youth-friendly and through continued cooperation, government, development partners, the private sector, youth groups, NGOs and civil society organisations can mitigate the pitfalls of migration, helping the new generation play its part in Cambodia's social and economic transformation.

Together, we are working on boosting social protection systems; on providing accessible and affordable healthcare; on strengthening the legal framework; and on social counseling and drug treatment.

Youth are being encouraged to acquire skills and provided with advice on their options. Targeted youth-friendly information services – on subjects such as urban living, labour rights, reproductive rights, gender discrimination and violence, exploitation, health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS and substance use – can arm young people with the tools they need, before and after they choose to move.

Partners also continue to promote decent childcare facilities at workplaces to prevent separation of children from their mothers. In the meantime, we all have a role to play ensuring that health and safety standards are upheld in factories and construction sites.

The United Nations in Cambodia continues working with the government and other partners on all these issues.

Because Cambodia's burgeoning 'human capital is its biggest asset on the path to middle-income status and a better life for all, including future generations. Young people are hitting the road in search of the new prospects that growth presents, and already making a major contribution to national development.

Let's keep working together to recognise the impact of this phenomenon, and take measures to ensure that, on balance, it works in favour of sustainable development.

Claire Van der Vaeren is the UN Resident Coordinator on behalf of the UN Country Team in Cambodia.

Thai teenager Ratchanok Intanon took the world women's badminton title in Guangzhou yesterday in a massive upset, beating Chinese Olympic champion Li Xuerui 22-20, 18-21, 21-14.

Ratchanok, 18, becomes the first Thai player ever to win gold at the world championships after defeating 22-year-old top seed Li, who was gunning for her first world title.

The three-game thriller was a battle of brilliant technical skills and stamina, with Ratchanok pushing a more experienced Li around the court with a huge repertoire of shots.

Ratchanok came back from 19-12 down in the first game to clinch it by two points, with a grim-faced Li fighting back to take the second.

But the supremely relaxed Thai looked physically and mentally stronger in the final game, holding on to a lead even though Li threw everything at her.

At the end of the match Ratchanok dropped to her knees in tears on court before bowing to an applauding stadium.

In the women's doubles final played beforehand, top seeded Chinese pair Xiaoli Wang and Yang Yu beat eighth seeded South Koreans Hye Won Eom and Ye Na Jang 21-14, 18-21, 21-8 to make up for their disappointment at the 2012 London Olympics, where they were disqualified for trying to lose their group stage match.

Yesterday's other doubles finals saw Indonesia strike surprise golds in both men's and mixed events.

Sixth seeded Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan made quick work of Danish duo Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen 21-13, 23-21 in the men's doubles, after compatriots Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, seeded third, had clinched the mixed title with a 21-13, 16-21, 22-20 victory over top seeded Ma Jin and Xu Chen of China.

AFP & DAN RILEY

After five game days in the Cambodian Basketball League, sponsored by Western Union and Coca-Cola, only two of the 12 contending teams remain unbeaten.

At the Beeline Arena on Saturday, top ranked teams Alaxan FR Patriots and IRB The Lord thrived on their four-game winning momentum to power their way to comfortable victories.

Spearheaded by Aimar Sabayo's 23 points, the Patriots came out of a tight first quarter, during which they were in fact a basket behind, to overpower Cellcard Eagles 72-56.

The next best Patriot turned out to be Dexter Arcenas with 17 points. Geoff Harry (13 points), Sean Looney (10) and Keith Kelly (8) performed well for the Eagles.

Both camps fielded their best possible line-ups. When the teams changed over, the Patriots had a slender one point lead at 31-30 with the Eagles very much in the hunt.

But deep into the second half, the equation dramatically changed. The Eagles began to wilt under a rash of fouls even as Sabayo produced a few eye catching lay-ups and the Patriots kept stretching their lead.

It was an all-the-way 66-56 win for IRB the Lord over Extra Josh Warriors, who suffered their first reverse in five games.

By the end of the third quarter, The Lord were seemingly home and dry with a 15-point cushion.

The Warriors over-dependence on individualistic style of play had given their rivals a freeway to some quick transition baskets and The Lord's Phanat Ouch (10) and Kim Vegnoun (14) were ticking off baskets at a very healthy rate.

Han Yi's 12 points consolidated the position for the Warriors.

Late in the game, Extra Joss switched to man-on-man half-court defence to good effect while slicing the Lord's lead down to just eight points. But a Monh Ratana three pointer ensured a safe victory margin for his side despite the fact that the Warriors had a better fourth quarter at 18-13.

Fred Babida's 21 points stood out for Warriors with Jerry Manus lending good support with 10 points.

"Of course we are disappointed," Warriors team manager Jonjon Naval told the Post.

"We have only practiced once in a month. If you take it individually, we have strong players but as a team we didn't gel. The Lord have been playing together for years, that is their strength."

After two narrow squeaks, CCPL Heat found their winning touch when they outclassed NSK Dream 71-58. The Dream youth matched the Heat experience well enough in the first quarter.

But in the next three, the complexion changed and the contest turned itself into a Sovann Panha show. The Heat point guard was everywhere, scoring on fast breaks, shooting three pointers, making assists and steals on the top of showing his mettle on rebounds, all crammed into a huge contribution of 36 points.

Dream did well from the perimeter, notching up three-pointers no less than seven times. But that hardly made a dent on the opposition.

The only positive take away for Dream was that they outdid Heat 19-18 in the final quarter, easily the side's most productive phase.

"I'm happy we won. Dream does have many players who can score. So, in the second half when they had to substitute key players, we made the difference," Heat manager Davuth Sin told the Post.