Rainsy slams informal EU monitors
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has rebuked the European Union over two low-profile election experts it sent to monitor July’s elections, claiming their presence had undermined Cambodian democracy.
In a letter sent on Tuesday to Ugu Astuto, the EU’s top diplomat for South and Southeast Asia, Rainsy claimed that the experts remained in the country and were working with the National Election Committee.
EU Ambassador Jean-Francois Cautain clarified yesterday, however, that Rainsy had his facts wrong and that the pair had left on August 9. …
In the letter, Rainsy says the government has never lacked “any sort of technical assistance, advice or recommendation” for electoral reform, but rather lacked the political will to implement such recommendations.
Following the 2008 election, an official EU observation mission offered a number of recommendations for reform, none of which appear to have been implemented by the government. …
Meas Sokchea and Kevin Ponniah
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/rainsy-slams-informal-eu-monitors
