Registration refresher

A working group from the ruling and opposition parties is meeting today to discuss the possible implementation of modernised voter registration. The Electoral Reform Alliance (ERA) has proposed a system in which teams across the country will interview each registrant and check their backgrounds, said Kuol Panha, head of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia.

Using computers and other technology will replace current practices, which rely on physical documents and handwritten registrations, Panha said. The new system should ensure the same voter is not entered more than once, decrease mistaken data entry and increase transparent auditing of voter lists.

“The change to a new system will respond to issues that have occurred,” Panha said. “Commune councillors and National Election Committee officials handle registration; when there is wrong data entered, they just blame each other.”

ERA’s proposal will be put to the test next month in Ratanakkiri and Kampong Cham provinces.

The working group today will also contemplate registration methods suggested by the European Union and Japan, group member Kuoy Bunroeun said.

“We will take any formula that will ensure effective management, but we’ll see which formula is more modern and cheaper,” Bunroeun said.