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

Pls. don't say the NEC is biased ... it is only strongly leaning towards the CPP

Official Defends Role of National Election Body

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
28 March 2008

The National Election Committee is preparing voter information and seeking funding to stage general elections in July, Tep Nytha, secretary-general for the national body said Thursday.

About 8.12 million voters have registered, and the election will cost nearly $17 million, he said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

The NEC is currently seeking about $2.5 million from donors to stage the election, he said.

He recommended voters keep their documents safe ahead of Election Day and reminded political parties to prepare documents for registration, which begins April 28.

The NEC has already begun preparations for the election, including the creation of voter information cards and the search for suitable ballot sites.

Tep Nytha defended accusations of NEC bias, saying the NEC was not the sole organization to hear complaints.

Parties that do not agree with NEC decisions can file an appeal to the Constitutional Council, he said, adding that it was normal for complainants to be dissatisfied with some resolutions.

NEC Bias Questioned Ahead of Elections [-Propaganda Chief Khieu Kanharith: NEC bias accusations are "propaganda"]

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 March 2008

[Editor's note: In the weeks leading into national polls, VOA Khmer will explore a wide number of election issues. The "Election Issues 2008" series will air stories on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a related "Hello VOA" guest on Thursday. This is the second in a two-part series examining the National Election Committee's role.]

Political parties and observers say the National Election Committee was set up to be biased from the start. But even as they hear calls for reform, top committee officials say it is too late to change the committee ahead of upcoming general elections.

The NEC was created ahead of the first general elections, in 1998, with nine components, and in subsequent years has been made up of the three parties with parliamentary seats: five from the Cambodian People's Party, two from Funcinpec and two from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

The National Assembly must approve the members for each seat, after an NEC candidate renounces political affiliation, but critics say these members never truly surrender their political tendencies. As a result, they say, the NEC leans in favor of the ruling CPP.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said in a recent interview the CPP gained support from the majority of NEC members, including from its coalition partner Funcinpec.

"The CPP has five seats of support from its party, plus two from Funcinpec, so they have seven voices in the make-up of the NEC," he said. "But SRP has only two people, so what will the NEC decide? It's for the interest of the CPP."

Im Francois, an official at the Center for Social Development in charge of elections, said resolution of complaints is another problem the NEC faces.

Prince Sisowath Sereirath, vice president of Funcinpec, said that some complaints of Funcinpec have not been resolved at the NEC, even though Funcinpec has two members on the committee.

"Sometimes, they do not resolve our complaints, and our two members have pushed for reform and improvement of the NEC, but it is stuck," he said. "We are mostly worried about that."

For these reasons, some political parties claim reform of the NEC's structure is necessary if the committee hopes to be considered independent.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha said a proposal can be made for consideration for the next legislature, but for now the body will do its job according to the law.

Parties can appeal to the Constitutional Council if they feel the NEC has not resolved their complaints or has been unjust, he said.

"The competing parties can mobilize their observers during the voting process, and NGOs can assist the observation," he added. "So if they find irregularities from staff of the NEC, they can file suit."

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith called the accusations of NEC bias "propaganda."

Still, after each election, there are protests and many complaints related to irregularities found by observers of each party, but some of them are rejected by the NEC as invalid.

The NEC complies with Hun Sen’s wish: No debate for PM candidates ... because this is not an election to select a prime minister -sic!-

The NEC rejects holding a debate for PM candidates

Wednesday, March 11, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Tuesday, the National Election Committee (NEC) officially rejected the request made by Kem Sokha, HRP president, to hold a face to face question and debate between all the PM candidates from the various political parties during the campaign for the upcoming July 2008 election. The Mekong Times reported that Im Suosdey, NEC president, said that the reason there would be no political debate because this is an election to select MPs based on a proportional system, and that this is not an election to select a prime minister. Furthermore, during the election campaign, the NEC will organize an equal-time program where each political party can send in their PM candidates to participate and provide their opinions during this program. Kem Sokha accused the NEC of not being independent and that it is under the order of the CPP. Kem Sokha said that if Hun Sen or the ruling party does not want something, the NEC will follow suit. Last week, Hun Sen declared that this debate is not necessary for him because he has a clear political program already.

Political Cartoon: The Winner of the 2008 Election

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

Sam Rainsy: Ruling CPP already pre-determined the upcoming election results

Monday, March 03, 2008
Samner Thmei Newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

“Among the more than 8 million registered voters, 65% are CPP members, this will allow the ruling party to continue to lead in the upcoming election" - Khieu Kanharith, CPP spokesman

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy declared that for the upcoming general election, the results are already known. This is so because the current ruling party has pre-determined the election results, and it said that it will obtain 80 seats. The election results will be as predicted by the ruling party if the National Election Committee (NEC) is in charge of organizing the election in the current manner. Sam Rainsy made this declaration following his meeting with the EU delegation at the SRP party headquarters in Phnom Penh, at the end of last week.

Sam Rainsy indicated that: “During the 2003 general election, the CPP announced before the election day that it will receive 73 seats. After the election, the ruling party (CPP) indeed obtained 73 seats. Now, it is predicting again that the CPP will receive 80 seats. If we allow the NEC to organize the election as it is doing currently, it will cheat the election for the CPP so that the latter obtain 80 seats as predicted.”

Sam Rainsy explained that: “The NEC was set up so the CPP win the election on 27 July 2008, by re-arranging the voters’ lists. Cambodian people who have the right to vote were removed from the voters’ lists, the NEC erased the names of actual persons, and it preserved the ghost names, and the names of foreigners who have no right to vote. The NEC is taking the contrary action so that the results of the upcoming election are biased, and so that they will not reflect the will of the people, but only reflect the CPP’s will.”

Sam Rainsy added: “During the meeting with the EU delegation, I pushed the EU to open its eyes to see the cheating actions undertaken by the CPP through the NEC. The international community, and the EU in particular, indicated that they understand this issue clearly and they will not be cheated by the CPP again like they did in 1998 and 2003 anymore. The international community told me that they will not certify the results of any election tainted by cheating, like what the NEC is currently doing.” Sam Rainsy called on the international community, and the EU in particular, to follow up on the election, and not to certify the election results if the request for free and fair election is not upheld, and if the election is organized based on the current plan.

Regarding the issue above, Khorn Kevmono, the deputy director of the NEC information department, declined to comment, but he said: “The registration of voters have already been completed. The progress of the election is much better than before because the voters can check their names very easily from now on, through the NEC website.”

Han Puthea, Nicfec director, agreed with the irregularities in the preparation of the voters’ lists, including the registration and the removal of voters’ names as well. Hang Puthea say that the CPP is still at the forefront during the July election. He said that “nevertheless, the international community, and the EU in particular, should pay attention when they provide additional aid for organizing the election, because Cambodia will always need foreign aid, both in terms of funds and materials.”

Regarding the lack of independence of the NEC, Khieu Kanharith, spokesman for the CPP, considers this as “spitting on oneself.” Khieu Kanharith explained that there is a joint participation from three parties, including the SRP, and there will be observers and experts from donor countries also.” Nevertheless, Khieu Kanharith indicated that: “Among the more than 8 million registered voters, 65% are CPP members, this will allow the ruling party to continue to lead in the upcoming election. However, the CPP already announced that even though it is leading, a joint government would be better than leading the government by itself.”

Voter Information Cards Spark Row

By Seng Ratana, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23 January 2008

A decision by the National Election Committee to distribute information cards to voters met with resistance from opposition parties and rights groups who said Wednesday the committee will likely only distribute information to ruling party supporters.

The National Election Committee has been criticized for supporting the Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party.

The plan, which would use commune councils to distribute the information, could lend itself to political manipulation, as the CPP controls a vast majority of the councils, the groups said.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that in previous elections, his supporters did not get such cards.

“The village chief will not distribute them to those who do not support the Cambodian People’s Party,” he said.

NEC Chairman Im Suosdey said the committee would call for rights groups and political parties to be observers of the process to ensure the cards are distributed.

Observers worry that the cards, which are only informational, may confuse people; those who don’t get the cards might believe they cannot vote.

“Sometimes there is discrimination, and in some families, some get the cards and some do not,” said Koul Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections.

With intense pressure, the NEC found 56 foreign names to remove from the voter list - Bravo, Tep Nytha??? -sic!-

NEC Removes 56 Foreign Names from Voter Lists

Win Thida, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 November 2007

Amid rising pressure from opposition groups and election watchdogs, the National Election Committee announced Tuesday it had removed 56 foreign names from registration lists.

Critics say Vietnamese nationals have been allowed to register to vote, stirring a sensitive topic among Cambodians as the country heads toward national polls.

"After some research, local authorities and local police noted that those [56] people only have residency cards are and not Cambodian citizens," NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said. "They did not have sufficient grounds and clear documents concerning their nationality, and we decided to remove the names from the list."

Cambodia has citizens who are ethnic Vietnamese and by law should be allowed to vote, but those registrations have been tainted by the possibility of Vietnamese non-residents also trying to vote, a move often decried as trickery of the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

Voter registration ends, results disputed

Watchdog groups question unusual number of 'proxy' registrations and other irregularities

By Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 22, November 2 - 15, 2007

The National Election Committee said this week it will not extend the voter registration period, although three voter watchdog groups complained about problems with deleting voters from the lists.

The groups also said there were a "surprisingly high" number of new voters, raising the possibility of multiple registrations by some voters.

The NEC reported that about 8.6 million Cambodians have registered to vote including almost 900,000 new voters.

NEC said 664,796 voter names were deleted from the lists and 682,459 eligible voters failed to register.

The three voter rights watchdog groups issued a joint statement October 26 saying they had "serious concerns" about the deletion list."

The joint statement was issued by the Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (Comfrel); the Neutral and Independent Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC); and the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI).

Voters are supposed to register in person. But the groups said that a "substantial number of voters were registered by proxy as party agents, commune officials, military police officers and Royal Cambodian Armed Forces officers took their identity documents and photographs and registered them as voters in connivance with registration officials."

It cited several locations where that happened in the provinces of Banteay Meancheay and Steung Treng.

The statement said several voter registration stations did not comply with stipulated working hours and either opened late or closed early.

They said the high number of new voters registered was "30 % more than originally estimated by NEC." They raised questions about the possibility of "multiple registration," and possible underage or non-Cambodian citizens being registered.

The Center for Social Development called for NEC to extend the registration process by at least one more month in order to accommodate other potential voters to come to register.

The changes in the list took place between September 15 and October 20 to reflect deaths, migration and other changes in advance of the national elections in July 2008.

Tep Nytha, secretary general of NEC, said the process has been done according to the law and NEC will not extend the registration and revision period.

"We were working according to the law and there was also participation from the local election NGOs and political parties," Nytha said.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, president of the Sam Rainsy Party, in a letter to NEC on October 23, called for a new meeting to examine the deletion of voter names in 241 commune councils, about 15 percent of the communes nationwide.

"Our party representative found that some of the commune councils did not respect and implement the guidelines of the NEC and deleted the voter names without relevant documents and evidence to prove lost voting rights," Rainsy wrote in his letter to NEC.

Group Finds Flaws in Registration Process, Voter Lists

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
04 October 2007

The voter registration process for next year's national election contains serious flaws, a democracy group has found.

The process has come under fire in recent weeks, as a deadline nears for eligible voters to register and for voters who believe they were removed from lists to get back on them.

Critics have charged the process is skewed in favor of the Cambodian People's Party, with tens of thousands of names of opposition supporters removed from lists and the burden to rectify those lists in the hands of laymen voters.

"Voters turned out less because of voter lists irregularities," Ly Sothearayuth, a senior program officer for the National Democratic Institute, said Thursday.

NDI recently completed a survey of 385 communes, where they found more than 11 percent of eligible voters had not registered.

The survey found that 20 percent of registered voters had not been given a critical identification card, Ly Sothearayuth said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

The National Election Committee has said the voter lists needed cleaned of illegible voters—such as the deceased—and that voters have until Oct. 20 to ensure their names are posted.

But now the NEC should be focusing on getting as many people voting as possible, Ly Sothearayuth said. The burden should not be on the people, he added.

Around 7 million people will be legible to vote in the national parliamentary elections, set for July next year.

Only a Third of New Voters So Far Registered, Monitor Says

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
02 October 2007

Just over a third of potential new voters have registered for next year's national election, a monitor said Tuesday, adding to concern that regulations were hampering the free and fair election process.

If the number does not rise in coming weeks, the drop in new registrants would be significant compared to the elections of 2006, the Committee for Free and Fair Elections said.

Smaller parties have complained that registration and other procedures are preventing new voters, who could potentially vote against the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

Around 223,000 of an estimated 680,000 new voters have registered this year, Comfrel said in a statement Tuesday. The numbers were a result of a Comfrel survey of observers in 400 of Cambodian 1,621 communes.

The independent monitor said it estimated 34 percent of new voters had registered.

Potential voters have until Oct. 20 to register, according to the National Election Committee, so that number could grow.

Opposition party accuses the NEC of collusion with the ruling party

During a press conference held on 20 September 2007, Mrs. Mu Sochua, Deputy Secretary General of SRP, reported irregularities on the voters list cleaning. On that sam day, she also filed a complaint at the Srah Chork Commune Office for listing her name on NEC's Form 10/25, marking her to be deleted from the official voter register for the false reason that she moved away from her commune (Photo: SRP)

20 September 2007
Mondul Keo
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The opposition party is accusing the National Election Committee (NEC) of intentionally helping the ruling party by inculding the names of people not belonging to the CPP in Form 1025 for removal from the voting list in the upcoming 2008 election.

During a press conference held on 20 September 2007, the deputy Secretary-general of the Sam Rainsy party, Mrs. Mu Sochua, accuses the NEC of intentionally helping the ruling party by including the names several thousands of SRP supporters in Form 1025 for removal from the voting list.

Mrs. Mu Scohua said: “Up until now, we observe that the NEC is intentionally organizing something for 2008. So where does the path to the 2008 election will lead to? It will lead to the victory planned in advance for the ruling the party.”

As an example to this collusion, Mrs. Mu Sochua shows her name being listed in Form 1025. She lives in Village No. 15, Srah Chak commune, Daun Penh district, Phnom Penh city, she said that the village chief, who happens to be a member of the ruling party, intentionally removed her name out of the voting list.

In response to this accusation, Hu Chanry, the chief of Village No. 15, explained that during the census, he did not see Mrs. Mu Sochua at home, so he thought that she may have moved, and (on his own doing,) he decided to place her name on Form 1025 (to be removed from the voting list), so she can come to protest, because he does not know who Mrs. Mu Sochua was.

Hu Chanry said: “I walked back and forth in this village every day, I never saw (her), and when I asked, there was no such name. I did not want to violate the law, it’s only that I am new here, and when I did the census, I did not see the person with that name in the village.”

Tep Nytha, NEC secretary-general, said that this lacking was done unintentionally by the authority, and that up to now, the NEC did not remove anybody’s name from the voting list yet.

Tep Nytha: “Therefore, to avoid this issue, the NEC requires that the list should be posted at the commune office, and this posting was done starting 02 August, and people can protest up until 10 October 2007. This is the legal mean that we pay attention to, and up to now, we did not remove anybody’s name yet. We are including their names on the list so they can protest.”

Nevertheless, Mar Sophal, director of investigation branch of Comfrel, said: “We found out that this involves members from all parties, from the CPP and from non ruling parties. Another set of problems are the technical mistakes which are the cause of the names removal.”

During each election, the opposition party accuses the NEC of siding with the ruling the party, whereas the NEC always reject these accusations, saying that they are exaggerations.