Opposition parties say they received too little time to review a 337-page National Election Committee draft of procedures for the upcoming national election after the committee asked for feedback within two and a half weeks.
Newly elected opposition councilors in Kampong Thom have been discriminated against and given no uniforms or places to sit, so they “just wander around” commune halls, the Candlelight Party said.
Only 1 in 10 commune chiefs elected across the country last month are women, as a ruling party spokesman said what mattered was effective gender-promoting policies and not the gender of candidates.
Election NGO Comfrel mustered fewer than 2,000 observers on Sunday; Nicfec only around 20 — both mere fractions of total polling places. Political pressure and loss of funding have decimated groups that once provided leading assessments of Cambodian elections.
Social media photos show mostly older voters handed a pen and mock ballot and, under supervision from officials, shown how to pick the CPP.
The minister released a letter last Friday asking government workers to be non-partisan and not conduct party activities during work hours.
With less than 90 days to the commune elections, 17 political parties this weekend registered candidates to vie for critical commune chief positions across the country — though some alleged threats during the process.
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