The National Election Committee (NEC) has introduced comprehensive mechanisms to manage and resolve complaints during the upcoming general elections.
These new procedures, focused on transparency and justice, aim to make the election acceptable to all parties involved.
In an interview conducted on July 2, Ke Rith, director of the legal and dispute services department at the NEC, delineated the potential categories of election-related complaints. These include objections to registration of political parties and their candidates, imposing fines or punishments, altering figures, vote recounts, re-votes, and challenges to primary election outcomes.
“We have mechanisms to address complaints of fines or punishments at various levels within the commune election commission, the capital and provincial election commission, the NEC, and at the CCC,” he explained.
Rith further emphasised that transparency and justice in complaint handling is of paramount importance. To this end, the NEC has extended invitations to all relevant parties for a training course on complaint procedures.
“We have also facilitated a means for political parties and candidates to lodge complaints against any election officials failing to adhere to election rules and procedures,” Rith underscored.
Sam Kuntheamy, the executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), remarked on the conscientious approach NEC employs in addressing complaints lodged by political parties.
“At the same time, each resolution must be acceptable to all relevant parties, particularly the political ones, in order to avoid any serious issues,” Kuntheamy concluded.
