Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, underlined the importance of these fourth parliamentary elections since the signing of the Paris Peace Accord in October 1991.
“I congratulate the Cambodian voters for showing their commitment to peaceful elections. In comparison to previous elections important progress has been made including efforts to improve transparency guarantees. However, a number of key international standards for democratic elections, mostly related to the uneven playing field between political parties, have not been met. I call upon all political actors to seize the opportunity to address the problems encountered and to commit to further strengthening democracy in Cambodia. The EU stands ready to accompany these efforts. I also want to thank Chief Observer Martin Callanan, MEP, and the whole observation mission for their hard work and commitment.”
The European Commission deployed an EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) for the 27 July 2008 National Assembly elections in Cambodia led by Mr. Martin Callanan, Member of the European Parliament. The EU EOM is as a further contribution by the European Commission to support democracy in Cambodia. The preliminary statement was presented by the Chief Observer Mr. Martin Callanan together with the Head of the European Parliament delegation, Mr. Glyn Ford, on the 29th of July.
The mission concluded that the conduct of these elections shows improvements to previous elections. Polling and counting were well organized; election authorities established transparency guarantees for corroborating polling station results; also, civil society participated more actively than in past elections. Despite these positive notes, the mission also concluded that the elections fell short of a number of key international standards. Inter alia, there was a lack of confidence in the impartiality of electoral authorities; the campaign period was marked by widespread use of state resources; access to media was difficult for opposition parties; and civic education was assessed as biased in favor of the ruling party.
The EU EOM deployed 130 observers from 25 EU Member States and Norway throughout Cambodia to observe and assess the electoral process in accordance with international standards for election observation and the laws of Cambodia. The EOM will stay on the ground until the end of August to observe the tabulation of results and post-election developments. A final report covering the whole electoral process including recommendations for future elections will be published by the EU EOM in the coming months.
“I congratulate the Cambodian voters for showing their commitment to peaceful elections. In comparison to previous elections important progress has been made including efforts to improve transparency guarantees. However, a number of key international standards for democratic elections, mostly related to the uneven playing field between political parties, have not been met. I call upon all political actors to seize the opportunity to address the problems encountered and to commit to further strengthening democracy in Cambodia. The EU stands ready to accompany these efforts. I also want to thank Chief Observer Martin Callanan, MEP, and the whole observation mission for their hard work and commitment.”
The European Commission deployed an EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) for the 27 July 2008 National Assembly elections in Cambodia led by Mr. Martin Callanan, Member of the European Parliament. The EU EOM is as a further contribution by the European Commission to support democracy in Cambodia. The preliminary statement was presented by the Chief Observer Mr. Martin Callanan together with the Head of the European Parliament delegation, Mr. Glyn Ford, on the 29th of July.
The mission concluded that the conduct of these elections shows improvements to previous elections. Polling and counting were well organized; election authorities established transparency guarantees for corroborating polling station results; also, civil society participated more actively than in past elections. Despite these positive notes, the mission also concluded that the elections fell short of a number of key international standards. Inter alia, there was a lack of confidence in the impartiality of electoral authorities; the campaign period was marked by widespread use of state resources; access to media was difficult for opposition parties; and civic education was assessed as biased in favor of the ruling party.
The EU EOM deployed 130 observers from 25 EU Member States and Norway throughout Cambodia to observe and assess the electoral process in accordance with international standards for election observation and the laws of Cambodia. The EOM will stay on the ground until the end of August to observe the tabulation of results and post-election developments. A final report covering the whole electoral process including recommendations for future elections will be published by the EU EOM in the coming months.
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