Committee For Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) #138, Str 122 Teuk Laak 1, Toulkork, Phnom Penh xumE®hVl Box: 1145 COMFREL Tel: 023 884 150 Fax:023 885 745 Email [email protected], [email protected] Website www.comfrel.org Final Assessment and Report on the 2017 Commune Council Elections Contents Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Foreword ................................................................................................................................................. 7 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 8 2. Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.1. Principal Findings .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 What Others Say ........................................................................................................................... 17 2.3 Overall Assessment ...................................................................................................................... 19 3. Political Environment ......................................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Unilateral legislative changes contrary to liberal pluralism, and policy and legal persecution of the major opposition party ....................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Threats and Intimidation .............................................................................................................. 26 3.2.1 Restrictions on Civic Space and the Democratic Public Sphere .............................................. 33 3.2.2 Intervention and Intimidation to Observers ........................................................................... 36 4. Election Campaign ............................................................................................................................. 37 4.1 Pre-Election Campaign ................................................................................................................. 38 4.2 Official Election Campaign Period ............................................................................................... 39 4.3 Campaign Finance Expenditures .................................................................................................. 41 4.3.1 Expenditure on Electoral Campaign Activities ....................................................................... 42 4.3.2 Expenditures for Materials/Equipment/Facilities or Services for Electoral Campaign Activities ........................................................................................................................................ 43 4.3.3 Sources of Expenditures on Electoral Campaign ................................................................... 45 4.3.4 Composition of Electoral Campaign Activities ....................................................................... 45 4.3.5 Electoral Campaign Activities ................................................................................................ 46 5. Use of State Resources and Access to Public Space .................................................................................. 47 6. Media Role in the Electoral Process ....................................................................................................... 47 6.1 Violations of Codes of Conduct and NEC Guidelines .................................................................. 48 6.2 Content of Television Program ..................................................................................................... 49 6.3 Access to Media, in Particular Television ...................................................................................... 50 6.3.1 Television Programming Related to Political Parties ............................................................... 50 6.3.2 Political Party Programs on Televison .................................................................................... 52 6.4 Press Articles on Webpage and Facebook ..................................................................................... 54 6.4.1 Political Party Access to Online and Social Media Coverage ................................................... 54 6.4.2 Fake and/or Leaked Information ........................................................................................... 55 1 | P a g e Final Assessment and Report on the 2017 Commune Council Elections 7. Electoral Legal Framework and Election System ....................................................................................... 56 7.1 Significant changes to the commune election law .......................................................................... 57 7.2 Recommendations submitted by COMFREL and ERA ................................................................ 59 7.3 Regulations and Procedures .......................................................................................................... 60 8. Recruitment of members of Capital/Provincial Election Commissions ............................................................. 62 8.1 The legal framework on the recruitment of PECs ......................................................................... 62 8.1.1 Recruitment Mechanism ........................................................................................................ 63 8.1.2 The Results of COMFREL’s Observation ............................................................................. 64 8.1.3 Election Official Recruitment ................................................................................................ 65 8.2 The Recruitment of the Commune Elections Commissions (CECs) ............................................. 65 8.3 The recruitment of Polling Station Officers (PSOs) ...................................................................... 66 9. Electoral Management ......................................................................................................................... 67 9.1 Voter Registration ........................................................................................................................ 67 9.1.1 New Voter List and Voter Registration .................................................................................. 68 9.2 Issuing Identity Certificate for Registration and Voting................................................................. 72 9.3 Distribution of Voter Information Notices (VINs) ....................................................................... 73 9.4 NEC Measures for Ensuring One Vote One Voter and Test of Indelible Ink .............................. 75 9.5 Political Party and Candidate Registration ..................................................................................... 76 9.6 Polling and Counting Day (June 4, 2017) ...................................................................................... 79 9.6.1 Other Irregularities During Polling......................................................................................... 79 9.6.2 Electoral related irregularities during counting ....................................................................... 80 10. Electoral Complaints and Resolution ....................................................................................................... 81 10.1 Receiving and Resolving Complaints from the phase of “Election Campaign” ............................ 85 10.1.1 Receiving and Resolving complaints at CECs ....................................................................... 85 10.1.2 Receiving and Resolving Complaints at PECs ...................................................................... 86 10.1.3. Receiving and Resolving complaints at the NEC ................................................................. 87 10.2. Receiving and Resolving Complaints from Cooling Day and Polling/Counting Day .................. 88 10.2.1 Receiving and Resolving Complaints at CECs ...................................................................... 88 10.2.2 Receiving and Resolving complaints at PECs ....................................................................... 90 10.2.3 Receiving and Resolving complaints at the NEC .................................................................. 93 10.3. Receiving and Resolving complaints against the “Preliminary Election Result Notification” ...... 94 10.3.1 Receiving and Resolving complaints at PECs ....................................................................... 94 10.3.2 Receiving and Resolving Complaints at the NEC ................................................................. 97 11. Election Results: Verification and Analysis .............................................................................................. 99 2 | P a g e Final Assessment and Report on the 2017 Commune Council Elections 11.1 Verification and Accuracy of Election Results ............................................................................ 99 11.2 Election Results Analysis .......................................................................................................... 102 12. Prospects