A Japanese government team dispatched to help Cambodia with election reforms is waiting for the ruling and opposition parties to agree on their own ideas, including a new National Election Committee law, before stepping in.

The experts met with both parties yesterday to present the findings of a survey they conducted in May and to discuss possible areas of cooperation, Japanese Ambassador Kumamaru Yuji said.

Kumamaru said that once the parties pass the new NEC law and agree upon changes to the election law, Japan can offer assistance in improving election procedures, capacity-building and voter registration.

“We will probably be sending our team when and where the need arises,” Kumamaru said. “We are still at the rather preliminary stage of our working cooperation with the Cambodian side. But we are willing to lend assistance for the benefit of making sure the next election [will] go very smooth and the election will be a success.”
Read more…

Hopes that the ruling and opposition parties would finally reach full accord on a new National Election Committee draft law were dashed yesterday as talks foundered on the qualifications the secretary-general of the new institution must possess.

After a meeting that lasted more than two hours, Cambodian People’s Party working group chief Bin Chhin and his Cambodia National Rescue Party counterpart Kuoy Bunroeun said the parties had reached “90 per cent” agreement.
Read more…