The SRP on Wednesday issued an evaluation of the April 1 commune elections, noting a decline in violence from previous polls but calling for major reforms within the National Election Committee.
The SRP also claimed that “administrative hurdles” during the election process led to the “disenfranchisement” of over two million people on April 1.
“Serious flaws in the administration of the full election process do lead us to call into question whether the will of the people was truly reflected in the election results,” the SRP wrote.
The SRP also alleged several “egregious” practices by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling CPP such as intimidation and vote-buying that must be addressed before 2008 national elections.
Village and commune council authorities—who overwhelmingly belong to the CPP—selectively distributed voter information ahead of the April 1 elections, favoring supporters of the CPP, the SRP claimed in the statement.
The SRP listed 10 improvements to be made in the electoral process ahead of 2008, the top four concerning the neutrality and competence of the NEC.
SRP Secretary-General Mu Sochua said Wednesday that a “mechanism of checks and balances” must be created within the NEC and that electoral officials must be subject to strict penalties for violating electoral rules.
“It’s very clear that the NEC does not have the means to monitor [its own] performance,” she added.
NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha said the SRP’s allegations of irregularities are nothing new, and declined to respond to specific claims.
“The election monitors have accepted the results” of the election, he added.
The US Embassy released a statement last week applauding improvements to the electoral process, particularly the reduction in intimidation and violence and fewer administrative difficulties.
But the embassy identified multiple areas of concern, which included lack of a neutral complaint process, unequal access to media by political parties, lack of transparency in campaign financing, the presence of local authorities at polling stations on voting day, problems in the voter list and low voter turnout.
Mar Sophal, monitoring coordinator for the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said the NEC’s integrity has improved in recent years. Nonetheless, the NEC is not entirely neutral and showed bias toward the ruling party before, during and after the elections, he added. The complaint process in particular appeared biased in favor of the CPP, he added.
CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap denied that the CPP bought votes or that local authorities intimidated voters or showed bias. Independent monitors have accepted the results of the election, he said.
“The losers always defame the winners,” he added.
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Tomei)
