Swindlers selling election observer identification cards have left the National Election Committee unsure of how many of the 59,424 national observers it has accredited are authentic, NEC officials said Wednesday.
The scam, in which agents promise lucrative observer jobs for money, has prompted a warning to the 13 NGOs registering observers for the July 26 polls.
“The fact is that there are some bad people who have used observer cards for making business,” Samraing Kamsan, spokesman for NEC Chairman Chheng Phon, said Wednesday. “I would like to stress that our committee does not allow this to happen at all.”
The usual practice seems to be taking money—reports range from $2 to $20—in exchange for the observer identification cards issued by provincial election commissions.
The provincial commissions do not charge for the observer identification cards, Samraing Kamsan said. “So if the agent is taking money from an observer for the card, that is wrongdoing.”
If anyone is caught selling the observer cards, “we will take
