New Concerns as NEC Releases More Unsealed Polling Records

The National Election Committee (NEC) on Friday publicly opened 12 official polling records from Siem Reap province, but seven of them had been either torn or improperly sealed, sparking fresh concerns from the opposition CNRP that they had been tampered with. The unsealed packages—known as “safety box A”—were unveiled less than a week after eight other packages were brought out in a similar state as officials evaluated election documents from Kratie province. “Safety package A is a special box, like the black box on a plane. Nobody can change it,” said CNRP candidate Kuoy Bunroeun, who was present during Friday’s session at the NEC. “But now the documents from seven polling stations were found unsealed, thus, they are not worth being called a safety package but an unsafe package.” The packages containing election documents are being opened on orders from the Constitutional Council of Cambodia, which is investigating electoral fraud on the back of complaints submitted by the CNRP. The opposition has said it has little faith in the NEC and the Constitutional Council due to their close ties with the ruling CPP. However, the party has agreed to press on with filing complaints over election irregularities with both bodies as a way to underline their partiality toward the CPP. Election monitors have said that the unsealed safety packages, though not necessarily representative of the 19,009 polling stations nationwide, should be enough to convince the Constitutional Council that a more thorough investigation into election irregularities is needed before a final decision is made on the election results. …

 Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/new-concerns-as-nec-releases-more-unsealed-polling-records-41524/