The National Election Committee (NEC) has approved the rules and procedures for the June 5 commune elections, following consultations with relevant stakeholders.

These are outlined in a protocol comprising 14 chapters, 18 articles and nine annexes, which has been sent to government agencies, nine political parties, 28 NGOs and 26 other associations, and others involved in the elections for review and comments, NEC said in a January 7 statement.

It noted that the final version includes a number of changes resulting from talks with the Senate Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, National Police and three political parties – the ruling Cambodian’s People Party, Grassroots Democratic Party, and Funcinpec.

“The main points in the spotlight of relevant stakeholders concerned ballot reports or Form 1102, which are issues that NEC addressed in a clarification letter on January 6,” it said.

NEC thanked everyone for their comments and feedback, which it said would ensure the smooth implementation of the protocol during the upcoming commune elections, in line with the principles of multi-party democracy and rule of law.

It said the document would be released to the public in the near future.

Form 1102 requires polling stations to make three copies of their election results, the first of which must be included in package “A” and then submitted to the NEC. The second copy “B” must be posted at the stations where the ballots are being counted and the third copy “C” will be sent to the commune election commissions, according to NEC spokesman Som Sorida.