CAMBODIA'S NATIONAL ELECTION COMMITTEE IMPROVING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PHNOM PENH 000565 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, P, D, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM CB SUBJECT: CAMBODIA'S NATIONAL ELECTION COMMITTEE IMPROVING WITH AGE REF: PHNOM PENH 554 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Charged with organizing the National Assembly election every five years, the National Election Committee (NEC) has assumed greater responsibilities since its first outing in 1998, just as the Royal Cambodian Government has assumed a greater budget burden to support an electoral organization that arose out of the UN-supported and fully-funded election in 1993. When up to 8,100,000 registered voters go to the polls on July 27, most will have better ID's, they will be better informed about their roles and the sanctity of the secret ballot, and they will enjoy an environment with fewer shortcomings or hindrances to a free and fair process than in past elections, including less opportunities for ghost voters. The NEC has not only made better logistical preparations in the electoral hardware at more than 15,000 polling stations, but it has also made some advances in the software behind the scenes. The nine-member NEC Committee, nominally non-partisan but drawn from the various political parties, may not be entirely free of outside influence, but it appears to be setting a new more transparent course with some increased efforts to shape a better electoral climate. In this 30-day election campaign period, the NEC will consider complaints about violations of the Election Law (88 filed since the campaign began on June 26) and can mete out fines or withdraw voting rights. END SUMMARY. Register More Voters, Get Rid of Ghost Voters -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Elections in Cambodia begin with the five-week registration process in the fall, where voters can check that their names have been carried forward from the last voter list, correct name spellings, or transfer their right to a new commune. The registration process was considered a relative success in most provinces, with the sign-up of more youths who are 18 by the time of the election. At the same time, the NEC published the names of 503,470 persons it planned to remove from the registration lists and took petitions to remove another 82,253 voters who had died since the last election. An NDI survey showed that over 85 percent of all eligible voters were registered in 2007 and showed a high degree of accuracy in name and address capture, thus ensuring fewer voters are turned away on election day. ¶3. (SBU) The voter deletion list was more problematic. While more than 500,000 names were properly deleted -- dramatically reducing the chances of ghost voters assuming an unused name on a voter list -- it appears that about 49,000 living voters were culled from the 8.1 million eligible to vote, according to an NDI sample survey. (NOTE: NDI's survey data showed 57,000 improperly deleted, but was flawed according to an NEC follow-up review of the voters NDI had identified as being alive in its sample survey. NEC found a number of those voters had duplicate registrations and so were still eligible to vote; a few were in fact deceased - NDI had found voters with a similar name. END NOTE.) IDs Help Voters Cast their Vote -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In close cooperation with the NEC, the Ministry of Interior undertook a massive program this past year to issue more national identity cards, one of about ten types of identification that are accepted on election day when admitting a voter to the polling station. Because they are standardized and have security features, National ID cards are favored and ease access. With support from the UNDP, more than 700,000 id cards were produced in the last 18 months, though some 80,00 had not yet been distributed by the end of May. (COMMENT: Anecdotal accounts indicate this shortcoming is more the product of standard rent seeking behavior by poorly paid police, who charge a small administrative fee at the local police stations for this and virtually all other services. Those who choose not to pay the fee may not get their ID's quickly. END COMMENT.) Give Voters the Information They Need -------------- ¶5. (SBU) A stronger suit at the NEC has been its growing role during the 30-day campaign period in producing voter education information and in overseeing media handling of issues forums, party debates, news coverage of campaigns, political advertising, and general media access. On TVK state-run national television, four hours a day are devoted PHNOM PENH 00000565 002 OF 004 to the daytime airing (and prime time re-broadcasting) of a two-hour show that alternates between an issues roundtable one day and a series of party campaign ads the next day. Each of the 11 political parties gets 10 minutes for its ad. As reported (Ref A),a total of 22 NDI-sponsored candidate debates will be broadcast on TV and radio. Each evening an "Equity News" show on TVK airs about 20 minutes of campaign-related news just after the regular news slot. This TV news coverage is allotted by an NEC-approved formula that favors the established three parties (CPP, FUNCINPEC and SRP),gives more time to the next five parties who have candidates in all the provinces, and provides a sliver of broadcast time to the remaining parties with fewer seats fielded. ¶6. (SBU) All media outlets have the right to sell political advertising space, as long as it is made equally available to all parties at the same cost. No television stations have chosen to sell such time. Instead, a few TV stations have donated a limited amount of free time to all of the parties. All 11 parties receive a total of 30 hours of radio airtime on two radio stations during the 30-day campaign period. Five parties purchased daily, hour-long programs on three separate popular FM stations. In addition to overseeing media access to the parties, the NEC has done a good job of airing get-out-the-vote messages appealing to the largely rural electorate with country song and dance routines that appeal to Cambodians' cultural preference for group activities. These have been carefully neutral messages that emphasize voting as a patriotic act. In addition, posters and signs have emphasized important information related to election day. ¶7. (SBU) The Voter Information Notice (VIN) is a good example of improved performance by the NEC and its associated Provincial and Commune Election Committees (PECs and CECs). The VIN gives simple information on the voter's polling station and a unique voter number that will make it easy to confirm the voter's name on the voter lists at the polls. More than 85 percent of the VIN's have been distributed to voters already and the remainder are available at the CEC. Since a significant minority of voters could not find their polling station during the Commune Council elections in 2007, the VIN serves a useful purpose. ¶8. (SBU) The NEC showed its new more forward-leaning posture on July 8 when it issued a statement decrying rumors that voters without VIN's will not be able to cast their ballots. (NOTE: Village chiefs in some villages played this trick in the 2007 Commune Council elections. The predominantly CPP-appointed chiefs withheld VIN's from voters suspected of not supporting CPP, stating that the voter thus lost the right to vote. END NOTE.) This year, the NEC is proactively countering these practices, noting they are against the law, and is clearly explaining voters' rights on election day. Logistics and Hardware in Place for Biggest Election Ever -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) With assistance from the UNDP, the NEC will ensure that its 91,530 poll station workers are ready on July 27 to conduct a smooth election operation in 15,254 polling stations nationwide. The NEC conducted poll operation and vote counting training of PEC master trainers on July 1-3. The provincial-level training has begun. Guides on the electoral law and ethics guidelines for police and security officials (who provide security to polling stations),and observers have been published and distributed. At the end of June the NEC had registered 15,642 national election observers (NICFEC and COMFREL are the preeminent Cambodian observing organizations),256 international observers, 348 journalists, and 35,061 political party agents from six political parties. (NOTE: The Embassy will field 45 two-person observer teams nationwide on election day. END NOTE.) Observers and party agents are able to witness the entire election process at polling stations including vote counting. A total of 10,450,000 sequentially numbered ballots printed with security features are being distributed to the provinces, and measures are in place to account for all ballot sheets at the close of polls. An indelible India ink will be applied to the fingers of all voters to prevent multiple voting on poll day. RGC Assumes More Responsibility; NEC's Better "Software" -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The RGC has assumed about two thirds of the election budget of close to $17 million. Of the $6.7 million PHNOM PENH 00000565 003 OF 004 requested from donors, there is a reported shortfall of about $600,000. Japan is the largest donor, providing $2.9 million. According to UNDP chief election advisor Aamir Arain, the NEC's most significant improvement since last year's commune elections has been to take command of efforts to conceptualize the electoral process and produce the information and training associated with it. While the RGC still needs help in the final production of high-quality information materials, they required very little assistance with the intellectual effort. Arain praised this achievement as a break-through for the NEC. The NEC literally has better software, with a strong IT department that has helped produce complete voter and candidate lists available to all online or through CD's, as well as posting poll station locations and quickly posting NEC decisions. ¶11. (SBU) Arain had less praise for the legal framework in which the NEC works -- wondering if the NEC has enough independence -- but was optimistic that further improvements could be made in the election law and its application after this election cycle. In the meantime, the NEC secretariat seems to be staying on top of the complaints mechanism and trying to push for speedy resolution of campaign squabbles at the local level. As of July 9, a total of 88 complaints had been filed at all levels, a significant drop from the hundreds filed in the same period in the 2003 national election. At least one offender has been fined over $1000 in a case of vote-buying. Of the 88 complaints, 35 are at the commune level, 40 complaints are with the PEC and 13 are with the NEC. The NEC committee of nine members will meet next week to begin to adjudicate the national-level complaints and appeals from decisions at the lower levels. NEC - More Balanced or Under Less Pressure? -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Early decisions of the NEC (which has minority representation by FUNCINPEC and Sam Rainsy Party members who like all other NEC members are supposed to forswear party allegiances while serving) indicate a more neutral leaning than in the past. For example, the NEC ruled in favor of a strict equity principle for parties participating in debates, versus using a formula that might favor the three largest parties with representation in parliament (CPP, FUNCINPEC, or SRP). The NEC's public statements against potential election tricks also seem to indicate a more vigorous oversight role than in the past, especially since many tricks emanate from CPP-dominated local party operatives who have little understanding and less appreciation for the finer points of clean election campaigning. Complaints of an NEC tilt toward CPP from the militant wings of opposition parties notwithstanding, the NEC appears to be seeking a judicious balance in this election. ¶13. (SBU) SRP candidate in Kampot Mu Sochua's complaint regarding government officials using state vehicles is a classic example of a legitimate complaint being carefully handled by the NEC. (NOTE: This case is also garnering uninformed coverage by some press. END NOTE.) Mu Sochua's original complaint -- that a border police official was preparing to use a state car for a CPP rally -- was taken, but the CEC noted that the offender had not joined the celebration precisely because his violation was discovered and photographed before the event, while he was eating breakfast. Mu Sochua placed herself physically in front of the big landcruiser to block its departure. She is now claiming that the ensuing scuffle to remove her from in front of the car was a form of campaign violence and intimidation. The NEC is preparing to hear Mu Sochua's appeal on this and another case where she placed herself in front of a state motorcycle and was "almost" run over. Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Given the strong consensus among local observers that the CPP stands to gain more seats in this election (as does the Sam Rainsy Party),the NEC is under less pressure to vote only along party lines when it would better serve the dominant parties to vigorously pursue threats or intimidation, punish petty offenders regardless of affiliation, uphold fair electoral principles, and produce a clean election that legitimizes their expected gains. ¶15. (SBU) In the meantime, while we are not sanguine that Cambodian electoral politics has managed to rise above the constant personal attacks, factional rivalries, pettiness and fecklessness of its main protagonists, signals of political maturity among parties and at the NEC are growing in number PHNOM PENH 00000565 004 OF 004 and the positive election climate at the mid-point of the 2008 National Assembly election campaign period bodes well for democratic trends in Cambodia. MUSSOMELI