Il est important de prévoir l'égalité d'accès et de traitement des partis qui participent à la compétition électorale dans les médias publics.

Much of the required legal and procedural framework for credible competitive elections in Cambodia is in place. However, in order for the actual electoral process to meet international standards, the laws and procedures must be properly implemented. There must be political will on behalf of the political parties and all stakeholders to honour both the letter and the spirit of the law, otherwise even the best legislation and procedures will be ineffective. This constructive engagement in the process includes not only ending illegal practices but also, for example, meeting legal requirements for complaints and appeals, as many parties failed to submit complaints in the appropriate format thus preventing their proper consideration.

In order for the 2002 Commune Elections to be truly meaningful, the future powers and responsibilities of the elected Councils, many of which are still to be defined by the Ministry of Interior, must result in a real decentralisation of power. Cambodians have now elected their own local Commune Councils, and it is imperative that these Councils are properly mandated and provided with the means and powers to meet the expectations of the people.

In light of some of the problems during these elections it is advisable that even the members appointed by decree must meet certain professional requirements, such as having a legal or technical background and there must be a clearly defined formula, which prevents a single party from dominating Committees at any level.

Further, other political parties competing in the National Assembly elections should have some form of representation on the electoral bodies at the time of the election. Such membership could be in the form of a non-voting position.

NEC directives must be issued in good time, to enable officials, parties and voters to be fully aware of the requirements. Wherever possible the NEC must avoid issuing last minute directives.

The voter register compiled for these elections should now be used as the basis for a permanent voter register, updated on an on-going basis. This will ensure that any persons missing from the register during these elections can now be added and that the register for the next election is complete. Such a permanent register is not only more efficient and reliable but will also be more cost effective. This would require a revision of the existing law, which currently requires the updating of the voter lists on an annual basis.

The requirement for parties to provide lists of candidates twice the size of the councils to be elected is excessive. Such a requirement not only places an undue burden upon the parties but also on the election Committees considering the applications. It might be considered to have a requirement for a candidate list to have a smaller number of replacement candidates.

The Law should be more clearly defined, to determine how such allegations of intimidation and vote buying are to be investigated, what levels of proof are required and the penalties to be imposed. The current penalties of high fines appear to deter authorities from imposing the penalty. Therefore consideration should be given into what penalty is more appropriate (a lower level fine?) and who will impose it (see Recommendation 21)

There is no need for an NGOCC. Such a body adds an extra administrative layer, and could potentially be used as a mechanism to restrict the activities of independent NGOs. In its place, the NEC simply needs to be well organised to deal with the accreditation procedures from organisations with which it is now very familiar and numbers of observers, which are also predictable. Whilst the NEC may remain responsiible for determining procedures and uniformity, responsibility for implementation could even be decentralised to lower-level Committees.

Such civic education needs to reach communities in the countryside, where understanding is at its lowest. The electoral authorities could be utilised to disseminate the information and of course civil society will also have a role to play.

The political identity of the government needs to be taken into account, to ensure that government ministers / ministries are not abusing their positions by receiving disproportionate coverage for government activities during a campaign, thereby increasing the coverage for their political parties. This is relevant whether or not the Minister in question is a candidate in the election.

The role of the NEC in relation to media coverage needs to be further clarified. Given the existing level of voter awareness in the country, the need to promote increased civic understanding and the need for balanced coverage, it could be foreseen for the NEC to play a facilitating role in terms of special media programming for the campaign, much as they did in 1998.

Training of polling station officials needs to be further strengthened. During these elections many officials remained unclear as to the guidelines for determining invalid ballots. This caused problems in a few polling stations and resulted in a number of complaints against the results. Officials need to understand not only the letter of the law but also the spirit in which it is to be implemented, i.e. that the process exists in the service of the people.

To facilitate the procedures, the NEC should undertake a centralised tracking of complaints and appeals so that information on the number, nature and status of complaints can be more forthcoming to the media (and hence the public) and political parties. This will increase confidence and transparency.

The attraction of such a mechanism in light of the inability of the electoral authorities during these elections to impose the rule of law is clear. However, getting consensus on its composition and duties might be troublesome, as may be reconciling such an “extra-judicial” body with existing Constitutional provisions. The judiciary in Cambodia does not enjoy widespread confidence and therefore any such court would have to include credible persons with a legal competence possibly from outside of the judiciary. Alternatively, members could be drawn from higher-level committees, which would also achieve the required “distance” between the decision-making authority and the accused.

Regardless of whether or not an Election Court is instituted, it is advisable that citizens and political stakeholders have an ultimate right to seek legal redress from an appropriate court, rather than electoral bodies being the point of final instance. Whilst, in Cambodia at present, the courts may not enjoy sufficient confidence to fulfil this role, as a matter of principle it is important, particularly if a complaint involves a citizen’s Constitutional rights.

Appuyer la publication du Journal Officiel et assurer une large diffusion de la législation électorale en vigueur.

Considérer la possibilité d’opter pour un système de bulletin unique, éventuellement plus consensuel, moins coûteux et permettant plus facilement un contrôle démocratique et de diminuer les possibilités de fraude

Il semble indispensable d’organiser comme mesure structurelle, et hors de toute pression pré-électorale, une révision exhaustive du recensement de la population et des listes
électorales

Faire en sorte que l’Administration distribue les listes électorales et les cartes d’électeur avant la date des élections, et affiche les listes électorales avant le jour du scrutin dans un lieu public; informer largement les électeurs des modalités de l’enregistrement et du vote

Garantir le respect de la composition tripartite de l’administration électorale- représentants de l’Etat, partis politiques et société civile - aux différents niveaux (national, régional et communal)

Participation effective des représentants des candidats et partis politiques au sein des structures électorales.

Planifier davantage le travail de l’administration électorale pour éviter autant que possible les instructions de dernière minute.

Cesser de muter des fonctionnaires pendant la période électorale