September 22, 2008

DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF NON-CPP SUPPORTERS THROUGH MANIPULATION OF VOTER LISTS STARTED IN 2006 AND CONTINUED UNTIL FEBRUARY 2008,
THUS PREDETERMINING THE RESULTS OF THE JULY 27, 2008 ELECTION

Excerpts from prominent newspapers

The Cambodia Daily, November 21, 2006 : "Unexpected Voter Statistics Raise Concern"
A total of 1,214, 250 new voters registered in October [2006] for the commune election in April [2007] – a number more than double the NEC's initial prediction (…). "Ghost voter" refers to names on voting lists of people who may not exist, have already died or do not live where they claim to live. Election monitors are concerned that individuals may use ghost names to vote, potentially swinging the outcome of the election."

The Cambodia Daily, November 10, 2006 : "Ghost Voters Pose Elusive Problem in Elections"
Election monitors voiced concern this week that there may be hundreds of thousands of ghost voters registered to participate in April [2007]'s commune elections (…). A ghost voter rate of 10 percent is far higher than the standard margin of error. This has prompted concerns that the voting list may have been tampered with on a large scale.  

Phnom Penh Post, October 6-19, 2006: "Rainsy sees the Devil in the details of NEC's rules"
Voter cards were by far the most commonly used documents until the last elections in 2003 (…). Suppressing these voter cards under the present conditions, with so little preparation, and adopting new procedures for registering and voting create confusion that tends to exclude many non-CPP members from the election process.
Only those who are registered as CPP members receive adequate information, assistance and facilities to ensure that they will be able to cast their ballots on Voting Day. This is attributable to the fact that virtually all the state officials who deal with potential voters (village chiefs, commune chiefs, commune clerks, police officers and election officials) are affiliated with the CPP or are not in a position to disobey the CPP (…).
The NEC's initiative actually creates an unnecessary, untimely and unfair hurdle for millions of potential voters, especially those who are not affiliated with the CPP, as evidenced by countless reports from independent sources about the resulting confusion that prevails throughout the country (…).
Many observers are not inclined to follow the technicalities of the new registering and voting procedures, which appear to be full of boring details. But in many cases, such as election preparations, the Devil is in the details.     

Phnom Penh Post, September 8-20, 2006: "Electoral rolls: Rainsy cries foul"
[Sam Rainsy's] allegations [that the CPP was disenfranchising non-CPP supporters] were echoed by Koul Panha, executive director of a local election monitoring NGO, the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL), which has been scrutinizing the registration process. Panha [said] that the role of the village chief was not independent. He said village chiefs are CPP activists and have worked to strengthen their party before the election at the same time as they have been working in their official capacity for the National Election Committee (NEC), which COMFREL also accuses of bias towards the CPP.
"We found that people who do not support the CPP were denied election information [and therefore were not able to prevent their names from being deleted from the voter register for political reasons], and some were forced to swear oaths to vote for the CPP," Panha said. (…).
"We lack the human and financial resources to counter the CPP, which is using the tools of the state to work for its political ends," Rainsy said.

Phnom Penh Post, September 8-20, 2006: "Rainsy predicts disenfranchisement of non-CPP voters"
(Letter to the Editor)
"The National Election Committee (NEC) has initiated changes in the voter registration process (…) that could have far-reaching consequences (…).  The NEC is creating unnecessary and untimely work and procedures for people, most of whom are unable to do it (…). The NEC's initiative could practically end up depriving millions of citizens of their voting rights. The victims will be mainly non-CPP members because all CPP members are identified as such by their village chiefs and will receive in time (…) related information, assistance and facilities to do the work imposed by the NEC. Most of those who do not support the ruling CPP will be left in the dark (…).  Many international observers do not realize that the results of the 2007 and 2008 elections are largely being decided now through a biased registration process."

The Cambodia Daily, August 30, 2006 : "Rainsy: Process Changes Predetermine Elections"
"The National Election Committee's changes to the voter registration process are deciding the outcomes of the 2007 commune and 2008 national elections before they have had a chance to take place (…). Many international observers do not realize that the results of the 2007 and 2008 elections are largely being decided now through the registration process."

Phnom Penh Post, August 11-24, 2006: "Rainsy blasts voter registration"
"Sam Rainsy (…) is blasting (the NEC's) month-long campaign to compile voter lists as a 'vicious scheme.' It's a big plot being implemented in order to deprive up to two million potential voters of their rights (…). The NEC is independent on paper, but in fact they are doing what the CPP asks them to do."

Full texts of the corresponding articles and other warning reports in English and in French at http://tinyurl.com/3ezh6n

SRP Cabinet