Source: FN
Prime Minister Hun Sen reacted to the Situation Room for Elections (SRE) statement citing that elections in Cambodia are not yet free and fair.
“The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) accepted the official election result released by National Election Committee (NEC) on Sunday and considered it free and fair, but political parties and the SRE haven’t yet,” stated the Prime Minister.
PM Hun Sen claimed that he was the first to request foreign aid with Cambodia’s electoral reforms, including re-registration. On the contrary, the opposition party only wants to reform the NEC.
“The plan to get 60% of vote to take the Senate to become Acting Head of State has failed, so they (the opposition) think it’s not fair”, PM added.
The SRE and other civil society organizations released a final evaluation on Sunday. Findings reveal that the election process had improved, however the SRE still reported irregularities and freedom restrictions.
A senior official and spokesman for the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Yim Sovann, responded immediately to the preliminary result and agreed that the commune election was not free and fair due to threats made towards the CNRP.
However, the CPP and other parties have accepted the NEC’s official results.
Nhek Bun Chhay’s Khmer National United noted that the election process was smooth and non-violent.