British ambassador to Cambodia, Dominic Williams, on February 10 expressed hope that the upcoming July general election in the Kingdom will be held “in a peaceful, free and fair environment, with space for differing political views to be expressed”.
This is according to a tweet posted by the British embassy on the occasion of a meeting between Williams and National Election Committee (NEC) chairman Prach Chan.
Set to be held on July 23, this will be the seventh quinquennial general election in Cambodia, after its first UN-sponsored vote back in 1993.
The NEC recently issued a 438-page document of rules and procedures covering a wide range of aspects of the election. All political parties and members thereof are barred from threatening, intimidating, or committing acts violence on voters, or inciting others to do so.
The 10-chapter document also bans direct or indirect insult to any candidates or supporters, including personal attacks on the character of the former.
“All political parties and their agents are banned from threatening, intimidating, persuading any individual to thumbprint and swear to vote for a particular party.
“Political parties and their agents are banned from providing money or gifts to any institution, organisation, or individual for the purpose of buying votes during election campaigns or the white day (the day before the election) and the election day” stated a section in Chapter 3.
All political parties and their members are prohibited from blocking election campaigns or voters, interrupting the election process, vote count, causing public disorder, or causing damage to ballot boxes.
