European Union deploys Election Observation Mission to Cambodia

The European Commission deploys an independent EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the National Assembly elections in Cambodia, scheduled to take place on 27 July 2008. These elections will be the fourth parliamentary elections since the signing of the Paris Peace Accord in October 1991. The EU EOM will be led by Mr Martin Callanan, Member of the European Parliament and is a further contribution by the European Commission to support democracy in Cambodia. In total the EU EOM, which includes the core team, long term observers and short term observers will have 113 observers in Cambodia with the long term observers arriving in the country as early as 21 June.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, said:

"Over the last decade Cambodia has taken many important steps towards democracy and in particular in the field of human rights. Nevertheless it is still a country in a post-conflict situation and more work remains to be done. Therefore, the EU has been and will remain actively engaged in supporting Cambodia in a wide array of areas including education, judicial reform, fighting corruption and increasing transparency within the government. Furthermore, we also provide support to the International Khmer Rouge Tribunal . Successful and credible elections are paramount as they represent a positive contribution to the continued long term democratic development of the country. Because of the importance the EU attaches to these elections, I have decided to deploy an EU EOM to support and undertake a comprehensive assessment of the entire election process."

The EOM Core Team consists of the Chief Observer Mr. Martin Callanan and eight experts. Alongside this core team forty-four Long Term Observers (LTOs) will be deployed on 21 June to assess the campaign period and pre-election preparations around the country. Additionally, sixty Short Term Observers (STOs), including observers from Norway, will be deployed over the election period to observe voting, counting and the tabulation of results. These will be joined by locally recruited STOs from diplomatic missions of EU Member States resident in the country. The EU EOM will operate in line with the "Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation", endorsed at the United Nations in October 2005. In order to assess the post-election period the EU EOM will stay in the country for a number of weeks after the election-day.

EU EOM are an important instrument for building confidence in the democratic processes of a country and are deployed in line with the EU's commitment in promoting democracy, human rights and the respect for the rule of law. For this mission the EU has made €2.8 million available from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

The European Union (EU Member States plus European Commission) is the biggest provider of aid in Cambodia. Its prime development objective is to support Cambodia's efforts to reduce poverty and integrate the country into the world economy. Over the past years the EU's aid has represented 25% of the total Official Development Assistance (ODA). In 2007 this was equivalent to about € 130 million of which the European Commission (EC) contributes about a quarter. The EC provides general budget support to the Royal Government of Cambodia for the implementation of its National Strategic Development Plan, and it is the major donor for basic education in the country. Furthermore, the EC engages in cooperation and political dialogue in the fields of governance and human rights, as well as trade and private sector development.