An Old Image of An Ex-Opposition Supporter Unrelated to the 2023 Election

Cambodia held its national election last Sunday. A few hours later, a claim on social media said a former opposition supporter said the number of voters turning out for the election was very small. The claim came with a photo of the government critic showing his finger without getting inked. The claim had been shared multiple times along with comments and reactions. However, we found the claim is false.

SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM

A photo of former government critic Ny Nak showing his finger without getting inked and captioning the number of voters turning out for the election was uploaded on social media just a few hours after the national election held on last Sunday.

The post apparently implied that the former opposition supporter witnessed a small number of voters turn out for the Sunday election.

The post had been shared many times, commented on, and reacted by Khmer-speaking social media users.

Below is the capture of the post written “From mandate to mandate, [the number of voters turning out] is silent as the election is meaningless. After elections, problems people facing are more serious.”

Facebook Post | Archived Link

The post had been shared with social media groups. See the posts here (archived) or another link here (archived) and here (archived).

FACT CHECK

Fact Crescendo Cambodia began debunking the claim by interviewing the former government critic Ny Nak which leads us to find out the facts below.

Responding to an inquiry from Fact Crescendo in Cambodia, Ny Nak – a former government critic – said the photo is of him during election day in 2018.

He added he followed an appeal from the opposition leader Sam Rainsy who urged voters not to turn out for the 2018 election.

We also tried to get back his photo in 2018, but could not find it on social media. Ny Nak said he already took down the photo.

Ny Nak was arrested in late 2020 and convicted in 2021 after he criticized a government directive that required people to wear masks to prevent Covid-19 infection. See the full VOA report here and here.

The former opposition supporter clarified that he turned out for the Sunday election and sent us a photo showing his index finger getting inked.

In a Facebook post, Ny Nak who uses a Facebook account named iMan-KH said he went to cast a ballot in an election office in a pagoda in Phnom Penh.

Facebook Post | Archived Link

The former opposition supporter who later surrendered to government told Fact Crescendo via Telegram that he witnessed a lot of voters turned out for the Sunday election although the Candle Light Party (CLP) – the country’s main opposition party – was not allowed to take the race.

A few hours after the Sunday election, the country’s electoral body said in its press release that more than 8.21 million voters turned for the controversial poll last weekend. The figure is equivalent to 84.58 percent of the country’s total registered voters 9.71 million.

Facebook Post | Archived Link

CONCLUSION

Fact Crescendo Cambodia found the claim mentioned above is false. The former government critic Ny Nak clarified that a photo of him showing finger without getting inked was in the 2018 election and nothing related to the 2023 election. He turned out for the Sunday election.