Officials from the Asia Foundation, one of the major donors for the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia and Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia, said they have temporarily suspended funding for both election watchdogs because plans for commune elections were stalled.
The Asia Foundation stopped payment to Comfrel and Nicfec at the end of the last fiscal year, said Tim Meifburger, an election adviser at the foundation.
“There wasn’t any movement in the commune elections, so we decided to suspend funding,” Meifburger said. “We will begin funding as soon as we have confidence that the commune election will proceed on a definite schedule.”
Meifburger said that other Asia Foundation projects, such as battling the trafficking of women, required money last fiscal year that was being spent on the delayed election projects.
The Asia Foundation intends to resume approximately $800,000 in funding for Nicfec and Comfrel in March 2001.
Hang Putea, director of Nicfec, and Koul Panha, director of Comfrel, said they were not affected by the temporary loss of funding since the majority of work for the commune elections will not start for several months.
Comfrel’s funding from Forum Syd, the other major donor to Comfrel and Nicfec, maintains “organization” efforts, Koul Panha said. Hang Putea also said his group is functioning well with their funding from Forum Syd.
According to Pia Hammar, field director of Forum Syd, Comfrel receives $150,000 and Nicfec accepts $40,000 from Forum Syd.
