Wednesday, January 02, 2008Khmer Mchas Srok newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy told a group of reporters at his arrival in Cambodia on 01 January 2008, that, during his tour in Europe in December, he requested the European Union (EU) to send in election observers for the upcoming July 2008 election, in order to help maintain a fair election.
Sam Rainsy said that during his visit, he met and discussed with (government) representatives from France, Holland, Switzerland, and during his meetings, he discussed with them about the general election in Cambodia for the fourth mandate Parliament which will take place in July 2008. He said that during all the meetings, he asked the EU to send its election observers to Cambodia for the upcoming election.
Sam Rainsy said that the EU Parliament promised to send its observes to help oversee the fairness of the election in Cambodia starting from now on, because the election demands a long preparation, such as the preparation of the voters lists, the indiscriminate and non-corrupt distribution of Cambodian identification cards to Cambodian citizens who have the right to vote.
Sam Rainsy added that the case of foreigners who have the right to vote in the upcoming election is worrysome because Cambodian citizens who have the right to vote are prevented from voting, whereas foreigners who have no right to vote are being protected by the National Election Committee (NEC) which allows them to vote. This issue creates upheaval in the election results, as they do not truly reflect the will of Cambodian people.
Regarding Cambodian citizens who are of voting-age, but have not received their Cambodian ID yet, Sam Rainsy indicated that he will help push the UNDP and the Ministry of Interior to come up with ideas and technical know-how so that all the 8 million Cambodian citizens who have the right to vote receive their Cambodian IDs.
Sam Rainsy said that during his visit, he met and discussed with (government) representatives from France, Holland, Switzerland, and during his meetings, he discussed with them about the general election in Cambodia for the fourth mandate Parliament which will take place in July 2008. He said that during all the meetings, he asked the EU to send its election observers to Cambodia for the upcoming election.
Sam Rainsy said that the EU Parliament promised to send its observes to help oversee the fairness of the election in Cambodia starting from now on, because the election demands a long preparation, such as the preparation of the voters lists, the indiscriminate and non-corrupt distribution of Cambodian identification cards to Cambodian citizens who have the right to vote.
Sam Rainsy added that the case of foreigners who have the right to vote in the upcoming election is worrysome because Cambodian citizens who have the right to vote are prevented from voting, whereas foreigners who have no right to vote are being protected by the National Election Committee (NEC) which allows them to vote. This issue creates upheaval in the election results, as they do not truly reflect the will of Cambodian people.
Regarding Cambodian citizens who are of voting-age, but have not received their Cambodian ID yet, Sam Rainsy indicated that he will help push the UNDP and the Ministry of Interior to come up with ideas and technical know-how so that all the 8 million Cambodian citizens who have the right to vote receive their Cambodian IDs.
