Phnom Penh (FN), Dec. 1 - Sok Eysan, Spokesman of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), warned the former members of the National Election Committee (NEC) not to underestimate the new members of NEC to host the 2018 election.

CPP's reaction came after Rong Chhun, former NEC member elected by CNRP, said that the newly-created NEC was losing its originality and would not expect the next election to be fair.

Sok Eysan explained that the absence of former NEC members will not affect the quality and effectiveness of the election. In contrast, the problem is caused by the flaw of the political movements.

The new NEC is organized by the party that won seats in the National Assembly after the fifth National Assembly election in 2013.

According to the law, the NEC consists of nine members, four are elected by the ruling party, and four are elected by the parties winning seats in the assembly, while one is elected from the civil society organization, which are unanimously elected by parties winning seats in the National Assembly.

After the dissolution of the Cambodia Rescue Party (CNRP) by the Supreme Court, three of the four candidates nominated by the party resigned from the NEC.

The National Assembly, which is currently running by four political parties, is preparing three new members of the NEC to replace those who resigned.

The three new candidates are Nuth Sokhom, a candidate from the FUNCINPEC Party; Hel Sarat, a member of the Cambodian Nationality Party; and Dim Sovannarom, chief of the public affairs section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Dim Sovannarom told Fresh News that as an independent candidate from civil society, he expects to work unbiasedly at the NEC.
=FRESH NEWS