Friday, 25 July 2008

The National Election Committee refutes lack of independence accusations

Cambodge Soir
24-07-2008

Some NGOs and parties declare their concerns regarding the neutrality and independence of the National Election Committee (NEC). They accuse the NEC of supporting the governing party and of being under its control.

To counter these accusations an NEC spokesperson published a press release on Tuesday July 22.The press release stipulated that since its creation, NEC members have been elected according to the elections law adopted by the National Assembly. The ensuing amendments to the law were to improve the election process. According to the spokesperson “the 2003 elections were validated and recognised as exemplary elections within south east Asia. As we are in the middle of the electoral campaign, some politicians try to fool the voters by telling them that they cannot vote if they do not possess the information bulletin. Other parties declared publicly that some ballot papers would be stolen on July 27. But the same politicians also proclaimed that their parties would win the elections on that day ". The press release indicates that to prevent any wrongdoing, the committee sent staff at all levels to inform the population. Yet, the NEC agreed there had been some malfunctions. But according to the NEC only 150 complaints have been registered, three times less than during the 2003 elections.

Although the NEC is located in the precinct of the Ministry of Interior, “it does not impact at all on its independence and neutrality”, said the spokesperson before adding that no elections worldwide are perfect.

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