National Election Committee Chairman Im Suosdey met with UN human rights envoy Peter Leuprecht on Monday to discuss voter registration and election-related violence in a “productive” meeting, the chairman said.
Im Suosdey said the two also talked about media access and regulations, currently pending approval, for campaigning for the upcoming national elections.
“[Leuprecht] asked me if I was aware of the cases of killing and intimidations. I said I am well aware of those cases,” Im Suosdey said on Monday.
In instances of suspected election-related intimidation or violence, the NEC will request that the Provincial Election Committees gather information about the incidents, Im Suosdey said. He added that the NEC regularly asks the Ministry of Interior’s Central Bureau of Security to investigate any cases of violence.
Im Suosdey said they also discussed approving the regulations on campaigning, with the chairman telling Leuprecht that the NEC needed to discuss this issue more with “election stakeholders” before passing the regulations.
Leuprecht could not be reached for comment on Monday. He arrived in Phnom Penh on Feb 25, and on Sunday met with Mam Sonando, the head of Beehive Radio, and En Chan Sivutha, the editor in chief of Rasmei Angkor (Light of Angkor) newspaper.
Mam Sonando has been charged with broadcasting false information during the Jan 29 anti-Thai riots that led people to commit acts of violence. The courts have charged En Chan Sivutha with publishing false stories that allegedly also led rioters to commit crimes. Both men have been released pending their trials.
“I asked Peter Leuprecht to find justice for me,” Mam Sonando said on Monday. “I also told [Leuprecht] that when people [in Cambodia] exercise democracy, they meet with difficulties.”
En Chan Sivutha said that his meeting with Leuprecht was just a formal visit and declined to go into detail.
