The National Election Committee (NEC) released a statement on Friday saying it would take into consideration any criticisms made about the June 4 commune elections, but also noted that elections around the world never take place without some errors.
“The NEC . . . has seen that no elections are run perfectly,” the statement said. “The NEC welcomes all constructive criticism, and will work closely with the concerned parties to deal with them and improve them for the next elections.”
NEC Communications Department Director Khom Keomono declined to comment on what criticisms the NEC would review, and said no official complaints had been sent to the body. “We also have not yet reviewed our work in detail for any weak points, but we acknowledge that it was not a perfect election,” Keomono said.
While the NEC did not name any of its critics, the election monitoring coalition known as the “Situation Room” has come under fire after it said the elections were not fully free and fair. This led to an investigation by the Interior Ministry last month – on the orders of Prime Minister Hun Sen – which resulted in a warning to two of the body’s members accusing them of bias.
