No competent election observer could possibly write a report that did not note how the voting registration process pre-determined and warped the outcome of Cambodia's July 27, 2008 national election. I would add that this type of rigging process was engineered and configured by both the NEC as well as international organizations that became complicit, either knowingly or unwittingly, in a process that would ensure that opposition voters would face a range of procedural as well as behavioral obstacles. Two years ago a letter I wrote to The Cambodia Daily fired one of the first warning shots about the dangers of creating permanently disenfranchised voters (*).
Elections are not just about vote counting but are a fundamental chance for citizens to engage in a open dialogue with those who make decisions that effect the health and direction of the state.
The July 2008 General Election could not be judged as credible, free or fair.
Dr. Paul D. Scott
Election Observer
The Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia
(*) Letter titled "New Voter Registration Process in Danger of Being a Paper Chase" published in The Cambodia Daily, August 21, 2006. Full text at http://tinyurl.com/6h85zo
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