Elections

Cambodia’s political parties say they are preparing to monitor a voter registration pilot project which will be held in November ahead of future local and national polls. Cambodia’s last election in 2013 was marred by disputes over the results. The opposition alleged widespread voter fraud, ...

The ruling CPP and opposition CNRP are deadlocked in their ongoing negotiations over new rules for commune elections, according to party officials, with the length and scale of election campaigns at the center of the dispute. ...

The National Election Committee has no plan to replace its secretary general, Tep Nytha, despite a pledge after the revamped body’s approval earlier this year to name someone new to the post within three months. ...

A prominent lineup of CPP figures has been selected for a new “propaganda and education committee” inside the ruling party, with senior government minister Men Sam An leading the 25-person group tasked with turning around lagging popularity. ...

Grassroots Democracy Party (GDP) secretary-general Sam Inn said Wednesday the new party is aiming to win enough National Assembly seats in the 2018 election to play kingmaker in a scenario in which neither the ruling CPP nor opposition CNRP win enough seats to form government. ...

Despite verifying that the current maps being used to demarcate the border with Vietnam and the maps loaned to the Kingdom from the UN last month were the same, the Cambodian government will hold another verification ceremony with a series of maps sent from France. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen returned to some familiar themes in his latest verbal assault on opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Wednesday, once again describing him as the “leader of the thieves,” a habitual liar and a stingy hypocrite. ...

Indigenous people in Mondolkiri province have joined together to form a new political party to give a voice to the country’s minority groups, a party official said Wednesday. ...

The opposition yesterday threatened to censure Interior Minister Sar Kheng, accusing the government of not being honest about the number of Vietnamese in the country. ...

Kem Sokha, the vice president of the opposition, addressed supporters in Australia last week, claiming that even if “another” party has its own supporters embedded in his party, fair elections in 2018 are what count. ...

President of the opposition, Cambodia National Rescue Party Sam Rainsy said fund raising for its party’s own TV station reached nearly $1 million. ...

Thirty-five families from Kandal province have written to the opposition CNRP requesting the return of more than $1,300 they say they donated to the party to support the establishment of its television station, citing concerns about embezzlement. ...

Deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha has ridiculed a new campaign by the CPP to revitalize the historically weak support for the ruling party among overseas Cambodians, an effort that has included appointing ambassadors as country directors for the party. ...

The election watchdog Comfrel has issued a new app that will help voters monitor the work of lawmakers. The app is now available to the public, but it remains to be seen how widespread it will become in Cambodia, where technological literacy remains low. ...

The National Election Committee will begin a voter registration pilot project in 43 villages in November, using a new computer system to store data as the country heads toward local elections in 2017. ...

A voter registration system test originally slated for October will instead occur in November, the National Election Committee (NEC) announced in a press release on Wednesday. ...

Voters will be able to instantly rate their lawmakers with a new program launched yesterday by the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL). ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday rebuked opposition leader Sam Rainsy for telling a French newspaper that a high-profile dinner between their families last month was an example of how the premier has turned over a new leaf in a life of tyranny. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook page surpassed 1 million likes yesterday, earning him a spot in the country’s top 10 most-liked pages on Cambodia’s most popular social network. ...

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy arrived back in Cambodia yesterday after about a month’s absense, saying he will use “cold measures” to end tension with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. ...

A sub-decree regulating the internal functioning of the new National Election Committee was signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday, paving the way for the election body to select new administrative officials and begin organizing itself for elections scheduled for 2017 and 2018. ...

The recently formed Grassroots Democracy Party (GDP) has taken another step in joining the political mainstream, announcing the appointment of a spokesman yesterday. ...

The National Election Committee (NEC)’s spokesperson Hang Putea said Cambodia will start computerized-voter registration in March next year, but needs 2,400 computers. ...

Cambodia’s National Election Committee (NEC) will make the disabled a top priority in political participation and include related policy in the country’s new election law to ensure them equality in the next nationwide elections, an agency official said. ...