PHNOM PENH: The Deputy Secretary General of the National Election Committee (NEC) has said that the irregularities found by the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) were only due to technical errors by polling station officials. He stressed that there were no irregularities found that could seriously affect the election results.
This statement was made following a meeting between representatives of COMFREL, led by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of COMFREL, Sok Sam Oeun, and the Deputy Secretary General of the NEC, Som Sorida, on Monday, 19 December 2022.
COMFREL cited a number of irregularities in its report, including those observed from the stage of election preparation, the closing of doors and windows at polling stations and the deletion of certain candidates or lists of candidates from political parties. There was also a request received to strengthen the performance of election officials during ballot counting (Form 1102).
The NEC’s Deputy Secretary General said that the election committee has accepted COMFREL’s report and reviewed all points related to the committe’s competence within the framework of its work. He emphasized that the irregularities found by COMFREL were merely technical errors caused by polling station officials and were not serious enough to affect election results.
He added that in the request received to strengthen the performance of election officials during the vote count (Form 1102), the NEC acknowledged that some past election officials had made mistakes, but this was only true in a small number of cases.
As for the case where the doors or windows of polling station were closed during the ballot counting, according to Article 30 of the Law on Commune or Sangkat Council Elections, those who are allowed to be at the polling station include polling station officials, political party agents, special observers, and journalists. Therefore, closing the doors and windows at polling stations is not an irregularity.
Regarding a situation where certain candidates or lists of candidates are deleted from the participating list of political parties, the law states that parties must nominate their candidates for twice the number of commune council seats, however, in the event that there are an insufficient number of candidates participating, then the list of candidates from that political party will be rejected.
The Deputy Secretary General of the NEC assured COMFREL that the 5th Commune / Sangkat Council Election 2022 had concluded with widespread approval from voters both nationally and internationally. However, he added that while the election was processed smoothly, it could not be deemed flawless. The NEC, as a law enforcement agency, will strive to strengthen its performance in accordance with the relevant legal provisions.
