Cambodia poll body to ratify vote tally next week
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia
—
Cambodian election officials said they will release complete general
election results on Saturday and ratify them as official four days later
if there are no complaints from the contending political parties.
The announcement Monday by National Election Committee
Secretary-General Tep Nytha does nothing to settle the opposing claims
of the ruling Cambodian People's Party and the opposition Cambodia
National Rescue Party to having won the July 28 polls.
The opposition also says that there were irregularities in voter
registrations that could have deprived more than 1 million people of
their right to vote.
Election committee Secretary-General Tep Nytha said Monday that if the
results are challenged, the final official tally will be issued Sept. 8.
The prospect that the losing side will not peacefully accept the
results, reflected in rumors that protests will greet Saturday's
announcement, has rattled some Cambodians who recall violence breaking
out in the capital Phnom Penh in the wake of previous elections.
Provisional results released by the government-appointed election
committee favor the ruling party's claim, and long-serving Prime
Minister Hun Sen has said he will take office again if those results
stand.
The ruling party's projections give it 68 seats in the new 123-seat
National Assembly, against 55 for the opposition. The opposition says it
won 63 seats. Both forecasts show a substantial gain from the 29 seats
the opposition had in the last assembly.
Tep Nytha said the election committee was awaiting word from the
opposition party on whether it will take part with the ruling party and
the committee in an independent body to probe complaints into possible
election irregularities.
The two parties reached preliminary agreement to set up such a body,
but the opposition party boycotted its planned first meeting on Sunday,
seeking to have representatives from the U.N. and civil society as
members rather than just observers.
If the special committee is not formed, Tep Nytha said, the existing
committee will use established procedures to investigate complaints. He
said that more than 300 complaints had filed by political parties during
the campaign, and 125 were filed on election day and during ballot
counting, with some already resolved.
Civil society groups issued a joint statement Monday saying they were
deeply concerned about allegations of intimidation, reprisals and
threats against some voters. It singled out local authorities for
allegedly threatening people who did not vote for the ruling Cambodian
People's Party.
1 comment:
It is very ridiculous how can the justice be found if the NEC itself
is not independent body. We don't
understand why this body can be a
legitimate body and recognized by the international community ?. This body was created by the ruling party and the most of its members are the ruling party's strong and active members of the ruling party CPP.
It is not an independent body, it is the ruling party's slave. It should listen and obey the order of the ruling party. It serve and favor to the ruling party as a boss and servant since the second term until today. The NEC is the CPP, CPP is the NEC. How can accept
the result of investigation of the special committee which will be formed without the UN and others civil agencies' participation ?.
The only one solution can be accepted is the international should intervened to end this problem if the ruling communist
party still reject the opposition party's proposal. No other choice can be exercised.
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