The National Election Committee decided Saturday to stick to the July 26 date for national elections, although it will ask the cabinet today for a three-week delay in the start of voter registration, NEC President Chheng Phon said Saturday.
The move put off what experts say is an inevitable postponement in the election date because of technical obstacles.
Voter registration was supposed to start today under the official electoral schedule adopted by the National Assembly last month.
But Chheng Phon said the NEC is not ready to start the process, partly because European Union-supplied registration kits have not yet arrived.
He insisted, however, that the delay in registration does not necessarily mean the date of the election will have to be pushed back. He added that it was not really the NEC’s responsibility to decide the polling date.
“The National Assembly has already endorsed July 26,” Chheng Phon said.
“It is up to the cabinet and the parliament to decide if they think there is not enough time.”
The NEC met last week to discuss the electoral schedule and was reportedly on the verge of asking the Council of Ministers for an election date delay on Thursday. Committee member Chhay Kim said Sunday that postponement is still a distinct possibility.
“We still have a problem with the July 26 election date because the time is too short,” Chhay Kim said.
Not only have the registration kits—which were to be flown in Saturday—not yet arrived, but more than 1,500 Communal Election Commissions still have to be trained, according to an adviser at the NEC.
Elections experts privately say that the registration delays will indeed throw off the entire schedule.
“I would say that it is very unlikely we’re going to hit July 26,” the NEC adviser said. “It’s technical….It’s methodical. You can’t jump from step one to step four.”
