PHNOM PENH: The National Election Committee (NEC) has reaffirmed its integrity in its conduct of the 5th Commune/Sangkat Council Election on 5 June, and dismissed allegations made by Candlelight Party Vice President, Son Chhay, who said that the election did not reflect the will of the people and featured intimidation and fraud.
In a statement issued on Monday, 13 June, the NEC called the allegations made by Son Chhay regarding the recent Commune/Sangkat Council Election “baseless,” and said he should respect the will of the people.
The NEC wrote, "Son Chhay repeated the same thing he said in a program [when he had] an interview with the online newspaper Cambodia Daily on 8 June 2022. Accepting the seats [his party won] on the one hand, and yet still accusing the Commune/Sangkat Council Election as being incorrect and unfair [on the other hand]. He claimed that the Candlelight Party accepted its winning seats out of respect for the will of the electorate, hence, if so, Son Chhay must also respect the will of the many others who did not vote for the Candlelight Party, Son Chhay certainly knows that this is a fundamental principle of democracy, voting is the core of democracy."
The NEC said it considers Son Chhay's remarks to be defamatory and affects the value of the electorate, the honor and dignity of the NEC, and also causes confusion and creates distrust in the election process.
The NEC further stated, "To ensure clarity, to maintain the honor and dignity of the institution, the NEC will take legal action against any accusation that is contrary to facts.”
NEC member, Dim Sovannarom, told EAC News that the council is currently going forth with the legal procedures and cannot provide any further details at the moment.
Article 171 of the Law on the Election of Commune/Sangkat Councils states that any person who causes a mistake leading to a loss of confidence in the election process shall be fined from 5 million to 20 million riel, which does not yet take into consideration other criminal penalties.
EAC News tried to contact Son Chhay for comment, but has not yet received a response.
Candlelight Party Spokesperson, Thach Setha, believes that the NEC's actions in regard to Son Chhay cannot be considered a solution, as the party's allegations shed light on irregularities, and talking about them will only help to correct these issues for the future improvement of the electoral system.
"We are talking on behalf of an opposition party and mentioned [these irregularities]," said Thach Setha. "Forcing us to accept what the NEC has decided is not correct. Protest is our right and it was within the scope of the election. Why is it a matter that requires threats, suing, taking legal action against defamation? I think that this is not a solution and not a procedure in the NEC. When there are irregularities, we complain to the NEC! What the NEC decides, it is only up to them, why is it defamation?"
The 5th Mandate Commune/Sangkat Council Election 2022 was held on Sunday, 5 June, with 17 political parties participating in total. These parties competed to hold 11,622 commune council seats from 1,652 Communes and Districts nationwide. The number of people who went to vote was close to 7.3 million people, about 80% of the 9.2 million registered voters.
On the morning of Monday, 6 June, international observers of the communal elections held a press conference announcing their collective conclusion that the 5 June election was held in a calm, transparent and free manner, in accordance with international law.
A representative of the International Observers, Hubert Moise Hal Haddad, said that he has been involved in many election observation missions, and found the Cambodian election to be of an equal standard to the French elections he has participated in before.
