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The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia

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The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia The Committee For Free And Fair Elections In Cambodia Report on the Commune Council Elections (February 03, 2002) xumERhVl COMFREL March 2002 CAMBODIA The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) Comfrel's mission is to help to create an informed and favourable climate for free and fair elections through lobbying and advocacy for a suitable legal framework, education to inform voters of their rights and monitoring activities that both discourage irregularities and provide comprehensive monitoring data to enable an objective, non-partisan assessment of the election process. Contact Person: ******************** 1. Mr. THUN Saray, First Representative, H/P: 016 880 509 2. Mr. PHOUNG Sith, Second Representative, H/P: 012 979 343 3. Mr. KOUL Panha, Executive Director, H/P: 012 942 017 Contact Address: ********************* The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL), # 138, St. 122, Teuk Laak I, Tuol Kork, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tel: +855 23 88 41 50/12 942 017-9, Fax: +855 23 88 37 50 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] Web Site: www.bigpond.com.kh/users/comfrel **************************************************** Table of Contents Pages I. Executive Summary.................................................................................................... 1 II. Comfrel’s Achievements and Constraints ................................................................ 2 1. Advocacy and Lobbying.......................................................................................................... 2 2. Network ................................................................................................................................... 4 3. Voter Education....................................................................................................................... 4 4. Monitoring................................................................................................................................ 5 5. Media....................................................................................................................................... 6 III. Co-operation with Stakeholders................................................................................ 7 1. Donors and International Organizations ................................................................................. 7 2. Cambodian Organizations....................................................................................................... 7 3. International Observers........................................................................................................... 7 4. Cooperation with the Governmental Institutions ..................................................................... 8 5. Communication with the National Assembly, the Senate and the Constitutional Council ...... 8 IV. Legal Framework........................................................................................................ 8 1. The Commune Council Election Law...................................................................................... 8 1.1. The Electoral Body.......................................................................................................... 8 1.2. The Role of the NEC to Ensure Equal Access to Media ................................................ 9 1.3. Candidate Registration ................................................................................................... 9 1.4. Electoral System: Rights of Local Citizens to Contest as Candidates ........................... 9 1.5. Co-ordinating Committee for NGOs (NGOs CC).......................................................... 10 1.6. Electoral Infraction ........................................................................................................ 10 1.7. Unopposed Commune Council Elections ..................................................................... 10 2. NEC Regulation and Directives ............................................................................................ 11 2.1. Censorship.................................................................................................................... 11 2.2. Preliminary Vote Result Complaint ............................................................................... 11 2.3. Issuance of Observer Accreditation.............................................................................. 12 2.4. Qualified Candidates and The Role of the CEC ........................................................... 12 V. Election Observation and Irregularities .................................................................. 13 1. Voter Registration ................................................................................................................. 13 1.1. Irregularities and Violations during Voter Registration ................................................. 14 1.2. Checking of the lists......................................................................................................14 1.3. Fire victims denied the right to vote.............................................................................. 14 2. Candidate Registration.......................................................................................................... 15 2.1. Pre Registration of Candidate....................................................................................... 15 2.2. CEC Role in Registration.............................................................................................. 15 2.3. Registration Process..................................................................................................... 15 2.4. Women Candidates ...................................................................................................... 15 2.5. Pluralism at risk – more factors against multi–party participation ................................ 15 ii 3. Election Campaign ................................................................................................................ 16 3.1. Unequal Access to Broadcasting Media....................................................................... 16 3.2. Financial Transparency of Party Political Campaigns .................................................. 18 3.3. Campaign Activities ...................................................................................................... 18 3.4. Irregularities during Election Campaign........................................................................ 19 4. Irregularities in the days immediately before, during, after polling/counting days ................ 20 4.1. The Day before Polling Day (The Cooling off Period) .................................................. 21 4.2. Polling Day.................................................................................................................... 21 4.3. Ballot Counting Process ............................................................................................... 22 5. Post-Elections ....................................................................................................................... 23 5.1. The immediate post-election period.............................................................................. 23 5.2. Follow Up Election Complaints ..................................................................................... 23 VI. Comparison with 1998 Election: Violence and Irregularities................................. 24 1. Intimidation............................................................................................................................ 24 2. Registration Processes 1998 - 2002..................................................................................... 24 3. Access to media by the contesting parties and voter education NGOs................................ 25 4. Irregularities During Polling and Ballot Counting Day........................................................... 25 5. The 2002 Commune Election results – further comments.................................................... 26 VII. Lessons Learned...................................................................................................... 28 1. Advocacy............................................................................................................................... 28 2. Servicing and building capacity of Comfrel’s network and Election Monitoring.................... 28 3. Education .............................................................................................................................. 29 4. Party campaigns and public forums, debates, and informed commentaries........................ 29 VIII. Principal Recommendation...................................................................................... 30 Appendixes ................................................................................................................... 31-52 Appendix 1: Project on Commune Council Elections 2001-2002 ..................................................... 32-37 Appendix 2: Number of Women Commune Council (CC) Members ..................................................... 38 Appendix 3: Evaluation of Trainee’s Awareness in the Training Courses ............................................. 39 Appendix 4: Voter Education Achievement....................................................................................... 40-43 Appendix 5: Conclusion of the Findings of Media Monitoring..........................................................
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