UN human rights envoy Surya Subedi met with National Election Committee chairman Im Suosdey yesterday morning to discuss election reform as part of a 10-day fact-finding mission that began on Sunday.

According to NEC secretary-general Tep Nytha, the pair discussed how election reform was progressing and how recommendations offered by Subedi on past visits had been implemented.

“However, [some] election reform [can only be] conducted after the election law is changed, and it is not the NEC’s duty to change the election laws,” Nytha said.

He added that Suosdey had informed Subedi that the NEC had not encountered serious electoral issues before national elections in July last year but had faced post-election “political problems” instigated by the opposition party, which challenged the results.

Subedi met with Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng on Monday and is scheduled to meet with private sector representatives today.