NEC Says Don’t Believe Reports, Wait for Election Results
By 8 p.m. on the day of the July 28 election, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith was declaring victory for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s CPP with 68 seats to the opposition’s 55. In the days that followed, preliminary results released by the National Election Committee (NEC) arrived at the same 68-55 outcome, but the NEC is now imploring the public to ignore any talk of those tallies for fear of creating social instability. On Monday, the NEC released a statement, admonishing political parties and social and mainstream media outlets for publishing the unofficial election results and saying that such behavior could lead to social unrest. … NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha said the announcement was made to clear up confusion. “Of course, political parties, the media and civil society have the right to publicize these reports about the polls they have received, but the figures absolutely differ between organizations,” Mr. Nytha said. “So it causes confusion among the public and it causes doubt as to why we have not released an NEC figure yet,” he said. …
Kuch Naren and Lauren Crothers
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/nec-says-dont-believe-reports-wait-for-election-results-38702/
