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| Pa Ngoun Teang (left), director of the Cambodian Centre of Independent Media, Confrel senior program co-ordinator Kim Chhorn (centre), and The Phnom Penh Post managing editor Sam Rith participate in an EU- sponsored press conference addressing Cambodia’s electoral process yesterday in Phnom Penh. (Photo Hong Menea) |
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Sen David
The Phnom Penh Post
“We suggest creating more independent institutions that [examine] the election process ... We urge the NEC to improve its process and to correct mistakes to improve elections . . . there are so many things wrong.”
Cambodia is making progress with how it runs elections, but the country has a long way to go before ballots gain widespread approval, a European Union representative said yesterday.
Speaking at an EU-sponsored workshop on human rights and democracy yesterday, Jean-Francois Cautain, head of the European Union delegation to Cambodia, said the Kingdom’s elections in 2008 were an example of progress being made.
“But they still fall short of key international standards,” he said.
NGO representatives involved in the Adhoc-organised event in the capital said independent monitoring of elections was lacking in Cambodia.
An independent body overseeing elections would be an important step to change, Kim Chhorn, senior programme coordinator for Comfrel, the Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia, said.
Comfrel is ready to deploy investigators to monitor June’s commune elections, he said, but more needs to be done.
“We suggest creating more independent institutions that [examine] the election process,” he said, adding that the National Election Committee had not yet become independent. “We urge the NEC to improve its process and to correct mistakes to improve elections . . . there are so many things wrong.”
Incomplete electoral rolls and a huge difference in funding for ruling party and non-ruling party advertising were examples, he said.
Hang Puthea, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said the government was still the only body that oversaw the intricacies of each election.
According to Keo Phally, head of the legal department at NEC, this is something that may not change soon.
“We don’t have any law in place allowing for the creation of a separate independent body,” he said. “We still have flaws in our process, but we are proud of the processes we have established since 1993.”
Guest speaker Sam Rith, managing editor of the Post, said the media played an important role in progress and democracy.
“Sometimes it is very difficult to get comment from officials of ruling parties to get an article balanced,” he said. “And sometimes it is hard to contact representatives of other parties, especially in rural areas.
“The NEC is . . . available most of the time when journalists contact them.”
4 comments:
It's easy. stop voting for CPP.
Will DUMB Khmer be able to do that, at least?
To All
CPP won elections because CPP buys votes and
uses intermedations.
The monies come from corruption and power abuses.
Not sure of what background of these three guys?
Are these three guys reliable?
Are these three guys doing the right things to help secure the voter counts?
We need more Khmer volunteers to help out to speed the voter counts and reach out the voters, especially the opposition party members.
Watch out the CPP vote buyers and bribes that cheat the national elections.
Watch out the illegal Vietnamese settlers because they are not eligible and qualified to vote because they are illegal immigrants in Cambodia.
Check out the opposition supporters to make sure they have receipts in their hands to prove who they vote for. Something happened, they will go back to bring the receipts or copies of voting proof.
We strongly need a hundred of thousands of the UN peace keepers in Cambodia if the opposition party wins the election in 2013.
So, Hun Sen's Vietnamese bosses in Hanoi will not hijack the powers again or create the coupe against the opposition party who wins the election.
The UN need to keep an eye on Hanoi who provide the military forces to their puppet Hun Sen to create a war against opposition party who is the winner.
The UN should not make a mistake again in 1993 and 1997 because the hidden Vietnamese forces in Cambodia who will try to hijack the power again for Hun Sen when Hun Sen loses the elections. The UN Peace Keepers should stayed very long time to keep an eye on the bad Vietnamese military forces who will be ordered by Vietnamese dog Hun Sen and Vietnamese masters in Hanoi who play games to rob the power again.
The U.S., EU Unions, India, Japan, S. Korea, Canada, Brazil, ASEAN members (Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Burma, Brunei and Philliphin) have to put pressure on Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi not to interfere Cambodia and not to protect Hun Sen WHEN THE OPPOSITION PARTY WINS THE ELECTION IN 2013.
SRP and other opposition party leaders need to prepare to have the strong interventions of UN, USA, EU Unions, a few of ASEAN leaders, Canada, Japan, S. Korea, and etc before the national election in Cambodia in 2013.
KY
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