បក្ស​សម​រង្ស៊ី​អំពាវនាវ​ដល់​ពលរដ្ឋ​ដែល​ប្រើប្រាស់​ទម្រង់​១០១៨​សម្រាប់​ការ​បោះឆ្នោត ប្រញាប់​ផ្លាស់​យក​លិខិត​បញ្ជាក់​ថ្មី

ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ដែលប្រើប្រាស់ ទម្រង់១០១៨នឹង មិនអាចបោះឆ្នោតនៅពេល ខាងមុខបានទេ

ព្រហស្បតិ៍ 31 ឩសភា 2012
The Free Press Magazine Online

អគ្គលេខាធិការ​ដ្ឋាន​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ព្រហស្បតិ៍​នេះ បាន​ធ្វើ​ការ​អំពាវនាវ​ថ្មី​មួយ​ ឲ្យ​ពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​មាន​សិទ្ធិ​បោះឆ្នោត​ទាំង​អស់​ដែល​កំពុង​ប្រើប្រាស់​ទម្រង់​១០១៨ សូម​រួស​រាល់​ទៅ​ធ្វើ​ការ​ផ្លាស់​ប្តូរ​យក​លិខិត​បញ្ជាក់​អត្តសញ្ញាណ​ថ្មី​សម្រាប់​បម្រើ​ឲ្យ​ការ​បោះឆ្នោត​នៅ​តាម​ឃុំ​សង្កាត់​ដែល​ខ្លួន​កំពុង​រស់​នៅ។

លិខិត​អំពាវនាវ​បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ថា កន្លង​ទៅ​ថ្មីៗ​នេះ មេឃុំ-ចៅសង្កាត់ នៃ​គណបក្ស​កាន់​អំណាច​មួយ​ចំនួន​បាន​បំប្លោង​ព័ត៌មាន​ថា ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​ដែល​ពុំ​មាន​អត្តសញ្ញាណ​ប័ណ្ណ អាច​ប្រើប្រាស់​ទម្រង់​១០១៨​ទៅ​បោះឆ្នោត​បាន។ គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី​ថា នេះ​ជា​ព័ត៌មាន​ដែល​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​បងប្អូន​ប្រជា​ពលរដ្ឋ​មាន​ការ​ភាន់​ច្រឡំ និង​ជា​ចេតនា​នយោបាយ​ដែល​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​បងប្អូន​មិន​អាច​បោះឆ្នោត​បាន។

CCHR welcomes decision to retract forms 1018 but calls for measures to ensure the exercise of universal franchise

CCHR Media Comment – Phnom Penh, 24 June 2011

CCHR welcomes decision to retract forms 1018 but calls for measures to ensure the exercise of universal franchise

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) welcomes the announcement by Tep Nytha, Secretary-General of the National Election Commission (NEC), that the form 1018 will be discontinued but we call on the NEC and the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to take steps to ensure that any system put in place to replace the form 1018 does not replicate the problems that bedeviled the form 1018.

The forms 1018 are used by commune authorities to permit people without other forms of ID to register to vote, and to vote. The forms were the subject of widespread criticism by participants and guest speakers at Forums on Elections and Democratic Space which were conducted by CCHR between September and December 2010. The criticisms that were leveled at the form 1018, which are outlined in a forthcoming report that was compiled by CCHR at the conclusion of these forums, included concerns about the absence of serial numbers and a public record of the forms issued which were said to leave the forms open to manipulation. Participants at the forums recalled instances in which they said the forms were manipulated to allow supporters of the ruling party to vote but to preclude opposition supporters from voting. After the previous election in 2008, the European Union Election Observation Monitor stated that fraudulent use of the forms 1018 was “a relatively widespread phenomenon”.

While we welcome the announcement that the forms 1018 will be discontinued, we urge the NEC and the RGC to move to ensure that an alternative system is put in place that will ensure individuals without other forms of identification are not precluded from voting. Given the fact that Senate and Commune Elections will take place in 2012, the NEC and RGC must work quickly to ensure that individuals without other forms of ID are not disenfranchised as a result of the decision to discontinue the forms 1018.

Equally, CCHR calls on the NEC and RGC to ensure that any system put in place to replace the forms 1018 does not replicate the problems associated with the forms 1018. As noted by the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) in today’s Cambodia Daily, the problems associated with the forms 1018 were as much to do with safeguards in place regarding the issuance of the forms as opposed to the nature of the forms themselves. In order to quell these fears, CCHR calls on the NEC and RGC to publicly outline the safeguards – including serialization and public records – that they intend to put in place to ensure that any substitute forms facilitate voting by all individuals qualified to vote, regardless of political persuasion.

For more information contact Suon Bunthoeun, CCHR Community Trainer, at +855 12 48 35 46 / bunthoeun@cchrcambodia.org or John Coughlan, CCHR Senior Legal Consultant at +855 89 58 35 90 / johncoughlan@cchrcambodia.org

Please find this Media Comment attached in PDF. A Khmer version will follow.

--

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) is a non-aligned, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia. For more information, please visit www.cchrcambodia.org.

EU election obervers: "Lack of confidence in the neutrality and impartiality of the National Election Committee (NEC)"

EU EOM chief observer Martin Callanan presents the key findings and recommendations of the mission’s final report, released Tuesday. (Photo by: Vandy Rattana)

2008 election was peaceful but flawed: EU observers

Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Click here to read the EOM report in English (PDF)
Click here to read the EOM report in Khmer (PDF)

EU election monitors highlight voter registration, neutrality and the local media environment as key concerns in their final post-election report

THE European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) has released its final assessment of the July 27 national election, calling on the government to address a number of irregularities it claims marred an otherwise peaceful poll.

"While the campaign was generally conducted in a more peaceful and open environment compared to previous elections, the 2008 National Assembly elections fell short of a number of key international standards for democratic elections," EOM chief observer Martin Callanan said at a news conference Tuesday.

Echoing the EU's July 29 provisional assessment, the final report notes the "lack of confidence in the neutrality and impartiality of the National Election Committee (NEC)", and concludes that there were "a significant number of mistakenly disenfranchised voters" due to the deletion of names from voter lists.

It also calls attention to the overwhelming media dominance of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, which "may have undermined the ability of the Cambodian electorate ... to make an informed choice".

Among its recommendations, the report calls on the government to "take credible steps" to ensure the neutrality of the NEC at all levels and to abolish the use of Statement of Identity Form 1018, which it claims was fraudulently issued at polling stations.

Callanan also highlighted the importance of a free media environment, calling on the government to establish "an independent broadcasting regulatory authority to be responsible for the distribution of licences and frequencies to broadcast media on an open and transparent basis".

Two steps forward...

Tep Nytha, general secretary of the NEC, said he welcomed the EOM's input, but said critics should not overlook the NEC's achievements. "The July 27 election reflects another step of the development of democracy and was evaluated positively by national and international stakeholders," he said, adding that the NEC would only take time to consider recommendations that "comply with electoral law".

...and one step back

But Koul Panha, executive director of election monitor Comfrel, said the recommendations represented clear shortfalls in the election process. "The recommendations they give point to the election's problems," he said, adding that the EU involvement was in a good position to convey pressure over the conduct of the election.

"This is a very sensitive political topic," he said. "If we depend on the government's action, I don't know if anything will happen. We may need some pressure for the government to improve the electoral process."

International Election Observers Must Open Their Eyes

October 8, 2008
Source: SRP

INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVERS MUST OPEN THEIR EYES

The following is further evidence of massive election fraud at Cambodia's national elections on July 27, 2008. One of the most obvious cases of election manipulation is related to the methodical issuance of forged 1018 forms, which inflated votes "won" by the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) to a decisive extent. The electoral trick using the names of ghost voters was associated with the disenfranchisement of a significant portion of the electorate suspected of sympathy for the opposition, finally giving the CPP a "landslide victory."

I- What is a 1018 form?

The 1018 form is a special voter identification document purportedly issued by local authorities for those who are registered as voters in a given commune but do not possess the standardized National ID Card which voters must normally show at the polling station. Two witnesses are required to "certify" the alleged identity of the applicant. The 1018 form is actually used by the holder as a voter card valid only in his/her commune of residence. It bears the signature of the commune chief and the stamp of the commune office. It was the source of a massive election fraud at the July 27, 2008 poll because it was an easy tool for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) to manipulate the election. Because the CPP controls the National Election Committee (NEC) and its ramifications (*) and because local authorities are also under its control (**), the ruling party could methodically issue forged1018 forms according to a well-planned scheme.

In 2007 and 2008, under the pretext of "cleaning up" voter lists, the NEC deliberately did the opposite of what it should have done: it deleted names that should have remained on the lists and kept names that should have been deleted. The NEC deleted hundreds of thousands of names of bona fide voters known to be unfavorable to the CPP, and kept hundreds of thousands of names of ghost voters in order to build up a reserve of fraudulent votes for the CPP. The outcome was that hundreds of thousands of persons without the right to vote (citizens not registered on the lists of the residential commune, or underage, or foreigners) were able to vote by using forged voter 1018 forms which were methodically provided to them by local authorities by using names of these ghost voters. The NEC has in fact killed three birds with one stone: it has succeeded in cleverly reducing the opposition's votes to a large extent, fraudulently inflated the CPP's votes to the same extent, and maintained a decent rate of "voter" turnout. See CPP election strategy at http://tinyurl.com/3o9t9v
To see a blank 1018 form and an example of forgery using a ghost's name, with English translation, please click at http://tinyurl.com/4b3jyb

Notes:
(*) At the local level, there are 24 Provincial Election Committees (PECs) and 1,621 Commune Election Committees (CECs) which are also controlled by the CPP.
(**) 99 percent of village chiefs and 98 percent of commune chiefs are affiliated with the CPP.

II- Pre-stamped and pre-signed empty 1018 forms

The pre-stamped and pre-signed empty 1018 forms are documents fraudulently prepared in advance in order to be quickly filled out by CPP local authorities by using ghost voters' names; they were to be immediately given to illegitimate voters on Voting Day. See sample at http://tinyurl.com/5v9xbe

From countless communes we have collected bunches of such pre-signed and pre-stamped empty 1018 forms, which shows the general pattern of a massive election fraud.

III- Pre-stamped, pre-signed and partly pre-filled 1018 forms

In order to proceed even faster with the issuance of forged 1018 forms on Voting Day, CPP commune chiefs pre-stamped (in red), pre-signed but also partly pre-filled (in black as a result of photocopy) bunches of 1018 forms, so as to be able to very quickly issue those forms in large quantities to illegitimate voters on Voting Day by just filling out (in blue) the rest of the form. The CPP local authorities often had to wait until the last minute - the document is backdated to get around the law - before completing the form by using the identity of a ghost voter or that of a legitimate voter who obviously was not going to show up at the polling station at the last minute. The form must be fraudulently completed for an illegitimate voter whose sex and age roughly matched those of the ghost or real-but-absent voter. The illegitimate voter's face as shown on his/her photo stuck at the last minute on the form, must be consistent with the data written in blue on the form, especially the sex and age of the ghost or real-but-absent voter as stated on the voter list. See sample of "three-color 1018 forms" at http://tinyurl.com/6cdzev

IV- The typical case of Memot district in Kampong Cham province: It was like that all over the country

The SRP head of Memot district, Nou Pisakha, wrote a detailed report on election irregularities (intimidation by CPP local officials, political discrimination, disenfranchisement, impersonation) that took place in his district on Voting Day. In Tonloung, Choam Tamao, Kompoan and Koki communes, the four CPP commune chiefs issued fraudulent 1018 forms to illegitimate voters by using ghosts' names. These illegal activities took place either in the commune office belonging to the state or in the CPP office in the corresponding commune. The report was written on July 27, at the end of Voting Day, and immediately given to EU observers for Kampong Cham province. Nou Pisakha succeeded in taking photos of the Tonloung commune chief while he was illegally issuing the controversial 1018 forms.

See report and photos with captions in English at http://tinyurl.com/5gkzgj

A similar incident happened in Kampong Seam district, also in Kampong Cham province, also on Voting Day. Please see details in English at http://tinyurl.com/4rsd7m

Another similar incident - showing forged 1018 forms being issued by CPP local authorities to illegitimate voters on Voting Day - was witnessed in Kampong Trolach district in Kampong Chhnang province. Please see photos with explanation in English by clicking at http://tinyurl.com/55n4yw

V- Confession by a CPP Election Working Group member

The CPP official reveals that the scheme to issue forged 1018 forms using ghosts' names on a large scale was prepared in advance by the CPP leadership with the complicity of the National Election Committee (NEC). See confession with English translation at http://tinyurl.com/4zgkp6

VI- Confession of a CPP-affiliated commune clerk

We have posted on our Web site a taped conversation between Phnom Penh's Boeng Salang commune chief Touch Meng Sreang (SRP) and commune clerk Kuch Bunnarith, who confesses having stamped more than 200 forged 1018 forms illegally signed by the CPP deputy commune chief without the knowledge of the commune chief. To listen to the audio tape please click at http://tinyurl.com/3fzfms

VII- Ghosts and forgery allowed underage to vote

The CPP used ghosts' names and forgery to allow under-aged persons (less than 18 year-old) to vote. See concrete evidence of fraud at http://tinyurl.com/5lvt35

VIII- Haste in the issuance of forged 1018 forms led to appalling irregularities and wrongdoings
Most of the forged 1018 forms were hastily filled out on Voting Day, which led to breathtaking irregularities and wrongdoings.

For instance, there are at least seven appalling irregularities in the following 1018 form handed to a 13-year old girl in Kampong Thom province. Please click at http://tinyurl.com/57vdu8
Sometimes, one same person has been issued several 1018 forms showing different names or different ages. See examples at http://tinyurl.com/6gul5g

Sometimes, in order to deliver fake 1018 forms very quickly on Voting Day, a CPP local official acted as witness to certify the applicant's identity but he did so by putting his fingerprints in advance on empty 1018 forms. These are to be filled out later for illegitimate voters whose real identity was not known yet when the fingerprints were put on the document. See examples at http://tinyurl.com/68v458

Some 1018 forms bear the official commune stamp but show no photos, and therefore could be fraudulently used by anybody. See examples at http://tinyurl.com/5abu9t

Another revealing mistake: On a forged 1018 form the CPP commune chief put on the holder's photo the stamp of the Commune Election Committee (CEC), which reports to the NEC, instead of the stamp of his commune office. On the document, a 25-year-old man was given the identity of an 82-year-old ghost! This shows the NEC's responsibility in the forgery of a public document. To see the incredible document please click at http://tinyurl.com/5cxkn2

IX- NEC cannot tell how many 1018 forms have been issued

As of today there has been no answer to opposition leader Sam Rainsy's August 13, 2008 letter to NEC President Im Suosdey asking how many 1018 forms have been issued for the last election. See letter in Khmer at http://tinyurl.com/3rs6ru

NEC Secretary General Tep Nitha has confessed that he doesn't know how many 1018 forms have been issued. In The Cambodia Daily , August 15, 2008, he is quoted as saying, "the NEC does not keep any record of how many 1018 forms are used by voters in the [July 27, 2008] election", leaving all such reckoning to the commune chiefs - the very people that might be improperly issuing them in the first place. See press report at http://tinyurl.com/5eo33w

Read comment on Tep Nitha's statement at http://tinyurl.com/3ecmw6

In relation with the issuance of forged 1018 forms the opposition SRP has filed criminal lawsuits against CPP commune chiefs who are involved in the forgery of a public document. See details of the lawsuits at http://tinyurl.com/5eo3yn and http://tinyurl.com/42r69l
X- Independent report on the issue of 1018 form

An independent and detailed report on the issue of the 1018 form being used as a tool for election fraud can be read at http://tinyurl.com/5eo33w

CONCLUSION

Forged 1018 forms were methodically and systematically issued throughout the country in order to substantially inflate the number of votes for the CPP. To see a sample of some 200 ready-to-be-used 1018 forms collected from all parts of Cambodia, which were fraudulently filled out using ghost voters' names, please click at http://tinyurl.com/6cmh94

Each case shows the real identity of an illegitimate voter as shown in his/her ID card as well as the fake identity given to him/her as shown on the forged 1018 form. Both documents show the same photo of the same person.

The above-mentioned cases and incidents show that the issuance of forged 1018 forms corresponded to the implementation of a well-planned scheme that was conducted on a large scale, nationwide, with a significant impact on the election results. The forged 1018 forms that we have exposed were not isolated and fortuitous cases: They reflect the general pattern of a massive election fraud. In fact, hundreds of thousands of 1018 forms were fraudulently issued, inflating by the same amount votes "won" by the CPP.

With regard to the impact of this fraud on the election results, it can be shown that as few as five fraudulent 1018 forms per polling station in a given constituency could unfairly deprive the opposition of a parliamentary seat in that constituency (see sensitivity analyses at http://tinyurl.com/4275dz ).

In fact the 1018 form was an essential election trick for the CPP to secure its "landslide victory" on July 27, 2008.

For more evidence of election rigging nationwide by the CPP-controlled National Election Committee, please click at http://tinyurl.com/4eegak

In particular, please read "New evidence of disenfranchisement of non-CPP voters: voter list cleaning and political opponent cleansing" by clicking at http://tinyurl.com/45mfpu and "What election observers did not see in a rigged election" by clicking at http://tinyurl.com/6gw3rz

SRP Members of Parliament

How Ghost Voters Helped The CPP Win The Election

September 22, 2008
Source: SRP

HOW GHOST VOTERS HELPED THE CPP WIN THE ELECTION

In 2007 and 2008, under the pretext of "cleaning up" voter lists, the National Election Committee (NEC), which is controlled by the CPP, deliberately did the opposite of what it should have done: the NEC deleted names that should have remained on the lists and kept names that should have been deleted. The NEC deleted hundreds of thousands of names of bona fide voters, known to be unfavorable to the CPP, and kept hundreds of thousands of names of ghost voters in order to build up a reserve of fraudulent votes for the CPP. The outcome was that hundreds of thousands of persons without the right to vote (citizens not registered on the lists of the residential commune, or underage, or foreigners) were able to vote by using forged voter identification documents (called 1018 Forms) which were methodically provided to them by local authorities controlled by the CPP by using names of these ghost voters. The NEC has in fact killed three birds with one stone: it has succeeded in cleverly reducing the opposition's votes to a large extent, fraudulently inflated the CPP's votes to the same extent, and maintained a decent rate of "voter" turnout.

The 1018 Form is a special voter identification document purportedly issued by local authorities for those who don't have any proper ID document. It is actually used by the holder as a voter card valid only in his/her commune of residence. It was the source of a massive election fraud at the July 27, 2008 poll.

To see a blank 1018 Form followed by an example of forgery using a ghost's identity with English translation, please click at http://tinyurl.com/4b3jyb

Evidence of fraud

The following are examples of pre-signed and pre-stamped empty 1018 Forms issued by CPP commune chiefs all over Cambodia . The documents were prepared in advance in order to be fraudulently filled out by CPP local authorities by using ghost voters' names and immediately given to illegitimate voters on Voting Day. Please click at http://tinyurl.com/5v9xbe

From countless communes we have collected bunches of such pre-signed and pre-stamped empty 1018 Forms, which shows the general pattern of a massive election fraud. As a matter of fact, forged 1018 Forms were methodically and systematically issued throughout the country in order to substantially inflate the number of votes for the CPP.

To see a sample of some 200 ready-to-be-used 1018 Forms collected from all parts of Cambodia , which were fraudulently filled out using ghost voters' names, please click at http://tinyurl.com/6cmh94

Each case shows the real identity of an illegitimate voter as shown in his/her ID card as well as the fake identity given to him/her as shown on the forged 1018 Form. Both documents show the same photo of the same person.

Most of those forged documents were filled out with a lot of breathtaking mistakes such as in the case presented at http://tinyurl.com/57vdu8

We will present many more cases like that in the coming days.

An independent report on the issue of the 1018 Form can be read at http://tinyurl.com/5eo33w

The issuing of 1018 Forms by the CPP authorities did have a big impact on the election results. As few as five forged 1018 Forms per polling station unfairly deprived the Opposition of one National Assembly seat as shown at http://tinyurl.com/4275dz

For more evidence of election rigging nationwide by the CPP-controlled National Election Committee, please click at http://tinyurl.com/4eegak

SRP Cabinet

SRP: At Least Seven Irregularities In A Terribly Forged 1018 Voter Identification Form

September 1, 2008
Source: SRP

AT LEAST SEVEN IRREGULARITIES
IN A TERRIBLY FORGED 1018 VOTER IDENTIFICATION FORM

The document with relevant explanation is presented at http://tinyurl.com/57vdu8

The seven irregularities are related to:

1. Holder's name
2. Holder's age
3. Holder's place of birth
4. Stamp on the holder's photo
5. Document's issuing date: July 27, 2008 (Voting Day). The document is backdated March 11, 2007 .
6. Witnesses: They did not put their thumbprints on the 1018 form as required by the law, but two other persons thumbprinted in their place.
7. Commune chief's signature: The person who signed and stamped on the 1018 form was Kheng Koeur, a CPP commune councilor who is neither the commune chief nor a deputy commune chief, and therefore is not entitled to issue any 1018 form.

Holder's real identity as known by everybody in her village:

Name: Doeung Kea
Gender: female
Age: 13 year-old (born in 1995)
Place of birth: Sraeung commune, Prasat Sambor district, Kampong Thom province.

Holder's fake identity as shown on the forged 1018 form:

Name: Dy Aun
Gender: female
Age: 18 year-old (born in 1990)
Place of birth: Sraeung commune, Santuk (sic) district, Kampong Thom province. Sraeung commune is actually located in Prasat Sambor district.

The seven irregularities show that this 1018 form was hastily issued on Voting Day to allow, at the last minute, an illegitimate voter, underage Doeung Kea, to cast a fraudulent ballot for the CPP by taking the identity of a ghost voter named Dy Aun.

We have got hold of a large number of such forged 1018 voter identification forms issued by the CPP local authorities throughout the country, which reflects a general pattern of election fraud designed to substantially inflate the CPP votes. To see a large sample of forged 1018 forms please click at http://tinyurl.com/6cmh94

SRP Cabinet

Incident showing the pattern of the issuing of forged 1018 forms nationwide

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Source: SRP

The incident is detailed in an article titled "Hearing at NEC to decide on complaints related to 1018 forms" published in Koh Santepheap, August 18, 2008. See original article in Khmer at http://tinyurl.com/55ugvv

The incident which took place in Kokor [not Krokor as written in the article] commune, Kampong Seam district, Kampong Cham province shows the pattern of the issuing of forged 1018 voter ID forms by the CPP local authorities nationwide. SRP activists succeeded in preventing a CPP village chief and his deputy from illegally issuing 1018 forms to approximately 40 to 50 persons on Voting Day. The venue planned for the last-minute distribution of the forged 1018 forms was a pagoda near a polling station in Kokor Pi village. The village chief confessed that he brought the forms to the pagoda on July 27 under the instructions of the CPP commune chief. The half-filled forms were going to be completed on the spot and handed to illegitimate voters.

SRP Cabinet

Council Weighs Election Results Appeal

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 August 2008

The Sam Rainsy Party filed more than 17,000 documents as evidence of vote fraud to the Constitutional Council Tuesday, in the party's final appeal contesting the results of July's election.

The leading opposition party maintains that the results of the elections, in which the ruling Cambodian People's Party claims to have won 90 of 123 National Assembly seats, are not valid.

The party, which has claimed 26 seats, has called for a nationwide re-vote, joined by the Human Rights Party in a denial of the results.

The National Election Committee ruled earlier this month the election results should stand, and the Council now has between 10 and 20 days to determine whether a hearing is necessary for the complaint.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has said he will wait to hear the results before determining whether to attempt to deadlock the government by boycotting a National Assembly swearing-in ceremony next month.

The SRP complaint included more than 100 administrative forms, numbered 1018, which the party claims was used in lieu of photo identification to add votes to the CPP count.

"We have additional, new evidence to support our complaint to the Constitutional Council," SRP lawyer Kong Sam On told reporters Tuesday. "We have witnesses, witness reports, form 1018, and nearly 20,000 voter's with their names omitted [from registries]."

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Tuesday he had no faith in the Constitutional Council.

"We've come here for hopelessness," he said. "But we must follow the procedure."

The Council's decision was likely to serve the interest of the CPP only, he said.

The Council has denied two previous SRP appeals. The Council upheld a fine against the party for insulting CPP leaders, and denied a hearing on the validity of the 1018 forms for voter registration.

Lack of Accountability Resulted in Disenfranchisement of Voters: Mu Sochua

Letter published in The Cambodia Daily, August 18, 2008

Lack of Accountability Resulted in Disenfranchisement of Voters

Responses given by the president and secretary-general of the National Election Committee in the article "NEC Rejects SRP Complaint on Election Fraud" (August 14, page 28), demonstrate the complete lack of accountability of the most senior members of the national institution charged with conducting free and fair elections in Cambodia. As a result of such lack of accountability, key international standards were not met and millions of voters were disenfranchised.

The SRP has sound evidence that hundreds of thousands forged 1018 forms were issued for the 2008 election. According to Article 53 of the amended Election Law, the NEC delegates the power to register voters to commune chiefs. CPP commune chiefs abused this power by issuing 1018 forms to people who were not eligible to vote. However, from a legal point of view, the NEC remains ultimately responsible for the fraud.

The NEC claims that falsified 1018 forms do not fall under its jurisdiction since "the forms are issued by commune councilors and not by election workers." But these falsified forms did have an impact on the election results. It is the duty of the NEC to ensure these results reflect a free and fair electoral process. Therefore the falsified forms most certainly fall under the NEC's jurisdiction and responsibility.

The election results should be re-calculated to reflect the true will of the Cambodian people by considering the large-scale disenfranchisement of non-CPP voters and the use of fraudulent documents [to illegitimate voters to inflate the number of CPP votes]. The SRP continues to collect these forged forms daily while the NEC refuses to accept them as evidence of fraud. The NEC clearly fears legal consequences and the potential reversal of election results that would give the CPP fewer seats.

An analysis conducted with the help of independent experts found that as few as five forged voter registration forms or five disenfranchised non-CPP voters per polling station deprived the opposition of one National Assembly seat. The SRP invites readers to examine this analysis at the SRP website, http://tinyurl.com/63zuyc

The SRP agrees with the NEC secretary-general that the commune chiefs who forged documents must be brought to justice. However, the NEC delegated full power to these commune chiefs, well aware that they had been abusing this power since the 2007 Commune Election. Must the NEC not also be held responsible?

The SRP calls on the Constitutional Council to act independently and give justice to millions of voters whose constitutional rights were denied on July 27. The SRP urges governments of signatory nations of the [1991] Paris Peace Accords to fulfill their duties with vigilance and allow Cambodia to move forward as a democratic nation.

Mu Sochua
Deputy Secretary-General
Sam Rainsy Party

Constitutional Council must face opposition’s complaints

Friday, 15 August 2008
Ly Menghour
The Mekong Times

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and the Human Rights Party (HRP) separately submitted complaints about the preliminary results of the recent national election to the Constitutional Council of Cambodia yesterday. The council has 10 to 20 days to examine and decide on any complaints, according to Article 115 of the Election Law.

The two parties resorted to seeking the council’s intervention one day after their complaints were rejected by the National Election Committee (NEC).

“The NEC’s decision was groundless. It said we have no evidence, but we have provided much evidence including witnesses and false 1018 electoral forms to the NEC,” SRP lawyer Kong Sam Un said.

Keat Sokun, deputy president of the HRP’s steering committee, alleged that the NEC is unwilling to deal with any complaints.

“Normally as soon as we complain, the NEC is ready to reject it,” Keat Sokun said. “On the electoral day we saw so many irregularities happen … Anything prohibited occurred on election day — the use of alcoholic substances, the presence of village and commune chiefs around ballot stations and deletion of many voters’ names.”

The NEC publicized the official preliminary results of the July 27 election on Aug 9, with the incumbent Cambodian People’s Party winning 90 of the 123 parliamentarian seats available.

The Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) and Funcinpec have accepted the results they originally rejected, leaving the SRP and the HRP as the only two parties which remain firm in their stance against the results. The two opposition parties charge that that too many irregularities happened during the election such as the disappearance of some one million voters from the voters list and the falsification of 1018 forms that allowed people whose names were not included in the voters list to vote.

NEC President Im Suosdey said his organization has refused to consider the complaints due to a lack of evidence, and that the allegation regarding falsification of the 1018 papers is beyond the NEC’s capacity.

According to Article 114 of the Election Law the complaints would have had to include specific locations, times and identification of the perpetrators, said Keo Phalla, director of the NEC’s Litigation and Legal Service Department.

“The complaints are unclear … and there is no evidence. [Such] a demand … is not easy [to address],” Keo Phalla said.

However, Kong Sam Un argued that the NEC should be responsible for the cases of the false 1018 papers as it authorized commune chiefs to issue such documents.

“The issuance of false 1018 forms is certainly a penal case, and the NEC must assume responsibility,” he said.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Form 1018, Ghost & Xmer Voters

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Opposition Leader Assails Fraudulent Form

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
13 August 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy dismissed the possibility of losing his seats when a new government is formed, but claimed instead he was concentrating on restoring the votes of those who were unable to cast ballots in July's election.

"We have found the evidence that the ruling Cambodian People's Party commune and local authorities illegally issued form 1018 to allow ghost and Vietnamese voters to be eligible to vote for CPP, and I launched the complaint yesterday," Sam Rainsy said.

The falsification of documents carries an Untac penalty of up to 15 years, Sam Rainsy said, and many local officials had violated the law.

He was receiving more evidence each day, he said.