Voting Rules Changed for Police, Army

[geovalin]

 

Less than one week after refusing to create a way for migrant workers to vote in the coming elections, the National Election Committee (NEC) yesterday asked the Interior Ministry to urgently intervene and allow National Police units and Royal Cambodian Armed Forces to vote near where they are stationed. According to a letter from NEC president Sik Bun Hok to Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday, the NEC has received a number of complaints related to the issuance of living certificates – something migrant workers attempting to register to vote in provinces along the Thai border also complained about.
 

The NEC has stepped in to address the police’s and army’s concerns, assuring them that they will be allowed to vote in the communes where they are stationed despite lacking living certificates – a necessary document for every voter attempting to register. The complaints originate from Preah Vihear and Siem Reap provinces, where commune authorities issued living certificates to some soldiers and policemen without informing the Interior Ministry.
 

The NEC does not have the power to issue living certificates, something they repeatedly used as an excuse when asked why migrant workers were not allowed to fill out temporary living documents or something similar. Only the Interior Ministry has the ability to do so. In the letter, Mr. Bun Hok reminds commune council members to “implement the law properly” and restated the official line from last week, that soldiers and policemen were “protecting” voters and therefore needed special rules that could not apply to others.

 

read more http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/31324/voting-rules-changed-for-police--army/

 

 

-- © Copyright Khmer Times 27/10