THE National Election Committee (NEC) has removed the names of thousands of voters who have died or relocated, it announced on Tuesday, prompting fears that victims of forced evictions may be denied the right to vote.

Sin Chum Bo, vice president of the NEC, said it removed the names of 33,144 voters.

The move was condemned by the opposition and civil society groups, who said it could prevent evictees taking part in future elections.

Hyng Yoeun, the Sam Rainsy Party representative in charge of elections, said: “We are concerned that, just as in 2008’s national election, the evictees will be unable to vote. Most of them have already been refused registration by various authorities and election staff.”

Lim Kim Ly, executive director of the Family Agriculture Development Community, said the majority of evictees were being struck off on technicalities.

“Most ... are being refused registration because they lost documents during their eviction. These include identity cards, family books, residence books and birth certificates. In these cases, the authorities should help to replace the documents.”

According to the NEC, 351,862 eligible voters have yet to register.