The Committee for Free and Fair Elections called Monday for a review of the heads of six Provincial Election Commissions, saying the commissions appear to be slanted toward the CPP and provincial governors.
The elections watchdog said it is particularly concerned about the provincial commission chairmen and vice chairmen in Kompong Cham, Siem Reap, Takeo and Kompong Thom provinces as well as in the municipalities of Kep and Pailin. The PEC leaders in each province have strong ties to the provincial governments, which are dominated by the CPP.
For example, the recently named chairman of the Kompong Cham PEC is Yin Buntit, who is the cabinet chief of Governor Hun Neng, a CPP stalwart and brother of Second Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“We worry because we have observed that many PEC members, and especially chairmen, are the chief of cabinet and secretary generals of the (mostly CPP) provincial authorities,” Comfrel spokesman Thun Saray said. “We worry that if they are close to the governors like this, they will not keep their impartiality.”
The Provincial Election Commissions will help choose the polling station officials and also are the first stop for complaints about intimidation and harassment, Thun Saray said. Because of this they would be able to influence the outcome of the election if they chose to, he explained.
However, National Election Committee Chairman Chheng Phon said it is too late to change the composition of the provincial commissions.