Saturday, March 31, 2007

VOA Adds 30 Minutes Daily to Cover Cambodia's Commune Council Election

Voice of America

From Sunday, March 25 to Saturday, April 21, VOA's Khmer Service will broadcast from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. local Cambodian time. The 30-minute expansion will allow more in-depth coverage of Cambodia's nationwide Commune Council Election on April 1. Nine reporters throughout Cambodia and VOA correspondents in Washington, D.C., will report on the campaign, Sunday's elections, the vote counting, and developments in the days following polling.

"These elections are critical to Cambodia in the aftermath of years of civil strife," said Khmer Service Chief Chris Decherd. "Our original reporting and news broadcasts provide information that, hopefully, will be useful as Cambodians participate in grassroots democracy. "

There are 1,620 communes throughout the country, with 12 parties and more than 100,000 candidates competing in the April 1 elections. Research indicates that 24.9 percent of Cambodia's 13 million people tune in the VOA Khmer at least once a week.

More news about the April 1 Commune Council Elections and other news about Cambodia can be found at the VOA Khmer Service Internet site, and its special Local Election page, http://www.voanews.com/khmer/

No comments: