Assembly Approves Members of Reformed NEC

The nine members of the new National Election Committee (NEC) were approved in a package vote at the National Assembly on Thursday, with CPP lawmaker Sik Bunhok named chairman of the body that will organize the 2018 national election.

Out of 117 lawmakers present for the plenary session of parliament, 113 voted in favor of the new NEC composition, with two abstaining, one voting against and one vote nullified.

Incoming National Election Committee Chairman Sik Bunhok speaks to reporters after the National Assembly approved the new committee's nine members Thursday morning. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
Incoming National Election Committee Chairman Sik Bunhok speaks to reporters after the National Assembly approved the new committee’s nine members Thursday morning. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

“I would like to inform you that the vote has approved the president, deputy president and members of the National Election Committee, with a result as follows: firstly, Sik Bunhok as chairman, and secondly Kuoy Bunroeun as deputy chairman,” National Assembly President Heng Samrin told the chamber.

Both Mr. Bunhok and Mr. Bunroeun, a former opposition lawmaker, played key roles in drafting the new election laws that were adopted last month, paving the way for the creation of the new NEC.

The National Assembly vote also approved the nomination of Hang Puthea, chairman of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections, as the body’s neutral member along with six other partisan choices.

For the CPP, Mean Satik and Em Sophat—members of the previous NEC—and former Interior Ministry official Duch Sorn will also sit on the election body.

For the CNRP, union leader Rong Chhun, former customs official Te Manirong and Supreme Court prosecutor Hing Thirith will also become NEC members.

The nine members are due to be sworn in to their positions at the Royal Palace on Saturday, with another ceremony to be held on Monday to formally transfer power from the old NEC to the new one.

That ceremony will implement a key component of the July 22 deal between Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy that ended the CNRP’s postelection boycott of its parliamentary seats.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, left, and Prime Minister Hun Sen speak to reporters at a joint press conference after the National Assembly approved the composition of the new National Election Committee on Thursday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, left, and Prime Minister Hun Sen speak to reporters at a joint press conference after the National Assembly approved the composition of the new National Election Committee on Thursday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

Before the new NEC members were approved at Thursday’s session, Mr. Hun Sen took the floor to advise the nine new commissioners not to seek advice from the parties that appointed them and resign their party membership in line with the new NEC law.

“From now on, the National Election Committee are no longer members of parties,” he said. “Our parliament today also completes its role on the organization of the new National Election Committee.

“Therefore, I hope that the excellencies who are the chairman, deputy chairman and members of the National Election Committee do not ask someone else about the creation of its procedures and [the appointments] of the secretary-general, deputy secretary-general and the others,” Mr. Hun Sen said.

“They must prepare it all on their own.”

Under the NEC law adopted last month, Mr. Hun Sen must personally sign off on legal documents appointing the body’s secretary-general and deputy secretary-general, as well as documents specifying the general administration of the new election body.

Mr. Rainsy mirrored Mr. Hun Sen’s comments in his address to fellow lawmakers, saying he hoped the new NEC would help provide fair elections and prevent any further disputes over election results, as well as the accompanying political crises.

“Today is a vital day that we need to record in Cambodia’s history, and I strongly believe from this day onward, Cambodians will have confidence in and trust elections in the future,” Mr. Rainsy said.

Speaking to reporters outside the parliament while standing next to Mr. Rainsy, Mr. Hun Sen said future boycotts of parliament—such as the one that the CNRP carried out after the 2013 election—will be next to impossible under new election laws.

“One paragraph states very clearly about the period to protest [election results],” he said. “Then the king will convene a meeting, and in the case of a refusal to attend the meeting, the seats will be lost, as those seats will be distributed to the other parties.”

“I think there will be no matters like the ones that have repeatedly occurred in the past,” he said.

A provision effectively preventing boycotts is among a number of rules in the new election laws that have been roundly criticized by local rights groups, with some suggesting that the stripping of seats from winning parties could violate the constitutional right to vote.

Mr. Bunhok, the incoming NEC chairman, said he hoped the nine members of the new NEC would be able to work together to improve future elections and avoid any friction that could lead to post-election disputes.

“We will try our best, and that does not mean we at the new NEC will work there to challenge each other,” Mr. Bunhok said. “As a priority, we must work together in accordance with the laws.”

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