Som Sorida, deputy secretary-general and spokesman for the National Election Committee (NEC), was born on February 1, 1959 in Kampot province’s Chhouk district where he was the third of nine siblings whose father was a soldier in the army during the Sangkum Reastr Niyum era under then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk.

Early tragedies

In 1970, Cambodia’s civil war period began with Lon Nol’s coup overthrowing the government of Sihanouk, who was prime minister at the time having earlier resigned the throne to focus on politics. This forced Sorida’s parents to live apart and made life for his entire family difficult.

“It was a really terrible time,” Sorida told The Post, with obvious emotion in his voice as he recalled how his mother feared for his father’s safety on the battlefield and struggled to care for their children at home without him.

In 1975, after the Khmer Rouge came to power by overthrowing Lon Nol’s government, his family was evacuated to Kampong Thom province where he was then separated from most of his family along with three other siblings who stayed with him.

His parents and his five other brothers and sisters were later murdered by Pol Pot’s genocidal regime.

In 1979, after the country was liberated from the Khmer Rouge, Sorida returned to Phnom Penh and joined the Central Propaganda and Education Committee of the new Cambodian government.

Early on, he didn’t have much time for his formal education as he was working full-time and as an orphan he had to learn to live on his own while raising his three surviving siblings, but he eventually attended the Central Political School, 4th term in Phnom Penh. After graduating, he became a member of the Central Committee for Education in Prey Veng Province.

Soviet-era studies abroad

As a result of his efforts and abilities, the Cambodian People’s Party sent him to study in the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan for four years at the Almaty Institute of Political Science, which was at that time called the Almaty Senior School.

He graduated with a Master’s degree there and then nearly earned his PhD at the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union in Moscow.

However, at that time the situation in the Soviet Union was becoming increasingly unstable as it was in the process of dissolution, eventually reforming its economic and political structure to become 15 separate nations.

Sorida could not afford to continue his studies given the situation there, so after completing his doctoral internship in economics he returned to Cambodia.

He intended to go back eventually and defend his thesis – the last step he needed to complete in order to finish his doctorate – but due to his family’s economic situation, he wasn’t able to return to Moscow.

Royal University lecturer & civil servant

Although he did not return to Russia to defend his thesis, he began work as a lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh in sociology and the Royal University of Law and Economics and he then went to work for the Ministry of Interior. During 1998 election, he was a trainer at the National Election Committee (NEC).

He held posts at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and Ministry of Interior as a member of the Legislative Council while working part-time at the NEC until he began work there full-time in 2001.

Veteran election expert

Sorida has been a full-time official with the NEC from 2016 when the election law was amended and the long-term contract officials were incorporated into the civil service employment framework until the present day, but he has over 20 years of experience in election work overall.

Sorida is one of the officials who contribute to the drafting of election procedures and regulations, especially the general principles of the election process based on the election law that is in force.

“Having a clear set of procedures and regulations for all election officials to follow is the means by which Cambodia ensures that each election is conducted smoothly and in accordance with the Kingdom’s laws,” Sorida noted.

He said he has no difficulties with doing election work – although the NEC as an institution is the arbitrator between political parties, civil society organizations and the public – because the NEC’s tasks are determined by law and they just follow each step as it is written.

“The most important thing is that election officials abide by the provisions of the law,” he said.

Regarding the composition of the NEC and the controversy over whether its members should come from different parties, he said he views each member’s work performance as that of an individual and everyone is working in accordance with the law contained in the Constitution that stipulates the NEC’s roles and responsibilities.

“The NEC does not follow the orders of any individual or institution. All of the authorisation for the general work that the secretariat does is based in the law as it is actually written and that is how it is practiced,” he said.

NEC spokesperson

In 2022, the NEC entrusted him with the role of spokesperson. In addition to his other duties, Sorida is now depended upon to provide information to the public through interviews and press conferences with journalists and statements provided to the media.

As a spokesperson, Sorida tries to answer questions posed by the media without prejudice towards any institution – even though some questions at times seem to be intentionally provocative – he always responds in a soft and friendly voice, he said.

“It is a core part of my job to respond to journalists and I believe the relationship I have with most of them is one of mutual respect. I respond without acrimony to all inquiries from journalists regardless because I am highly committed to the underlying principle of professionalism and not taking things personally and I think this allows me to enjoy a good relationship with the media,” he said.

Sorida noted that his career success comes from the knowledge he gained through the practical implementation of election work, because there is no school that provides training on running elections.

“Success at work is not just getting a degree from a school and then being put in charge. It comes through your actual experiences out on the battlefield, which is the most important thing that determines your ultimate success or failure,” he said.

Sorida expressed pride in the state of peace achieved by the Kingdom today and said that he always tells his four children and five grandchildren that it is the first such extended period in Cambodia that he can recall in his lifetime.

“To live in a peaceful country is to live comfortably and to be able to do business and to study. It means we are free from divisions and free from the terrible sounds of gunfire and explosions,” he said.