The National Election Committee (NEC) dismissed a request to help migrant workers vote in the upcoming elections, despite creating a system similar to what was requested for soldiers only seven days ago.
Last week, the NEC said it would allow soldiers – who traditionally have supported the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) – to vote at the polling stations closest to their garrisons instead of in their home provinces, but refused to do the same for migrant workers – traditionally supporters of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – who are living abroad, specifically those working in Thailand who are trying to vote in communes along the border.
NEC spokesman Hang Puthea said they would be unable to help the roughly one million Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand because the “NEC can’t do anything illegal.”
“We examined the legal aspects, and it’s not allowed by the NEC to follow the request. The law says they can register to vote where they live, but the problem is that they live in Thailand,” he said.
“Although they have national ID cards, they do not fulfill enough conditions.”
Mr. Puthea claimed migrant workers and soldiers were different because the armed forces “maintained security and public order” during elections.
“The difference between workers and the military is that soldiers stay in the location where they work in the commune, and the soldier can register as they are people among the 70,000 who maintain security and public order during voting, so they cannot go home on time. But the workers stay in Thailand,” he said.
CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann declined to comment on the situation.
On Tuesday, CNRP acting president Kem Sokha sent a letter to NEC president Sik Bun Hok begging them to allow migrant workers – who were showing up at the border in droves each day to register for the commune elections – to register and vote in communes along the Thai border.
Migrant workers are often unable to return to their homes for elections due to time and money constraints. Most are working in low-paying factory jobs or as housemaids and cannot travel back to their home communes in Cambodia for elections.
Mr. Sokha’s letter says border officials made registration efforts difficult for those who arrived and they tried to dissuade people from registering to vote in next year’s elections.
“We request that the National Election Committee intervene for Cambodian workers who are working in Thailand and want voter registration at polling stations located in communes near the Cambodia-Thailand border in accordance with the law,” the letter says.
The CNRP said that on July 9 and last Sunday, about 600 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand came to register to vote in commune offices along the Cambodia-Thai border in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces.
But commune chiefs in those areas refused to give out living certificates – a document necessary for voters trying to register – and turned them away.
The letter added that to ensure the voting rights of every Cambodian citizen, as stipulated in the constitution and Election Law, the NEC must rectify this situation and allow migrant workers to register to vote in communes along the border with Thailand.
Koul Panha, president of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said officials had difficulty in the past when it came to the locations for voter registration for populations that did not work in their home communes.
If they can do this for soldiers, the NEC should cooperate with authorities to implement a confirmed living certificate for Cambodian workers who need to register near their jobs, Mr. Panha said.
“In the future, they also need to discuss and change some voter registration systems allowing people to register where they live or allowing them to arrange for registration in Thailand and to confirm the place where they live and transfer the data through computers so they can register from anywhere for everywhere.
“It’s not a problem of financial commitment, it’s a problem of political commitment,” Mr. Panha told Khmer Times last year. “It’s not easy for political parties to control [voters abroad] or influence them. They live far from here, from the [political] campaigns and engagement.”
“Many [voters abroad] don’t like the ruling party,” said Sourn Serey Ratha, the head of the Khmer People Power Movement. “If the ruling party allows the overseas people to vote, then they will not vote for them.”
Opposition party members have aired concerns in the past about the government’s refusal to create systems that would allow Cambodia’s sizable expatriate population to vote in elections. Some within the opposition say the government’s refusal is rooted in the fact that most Cambodians living abroad are to varying degrees supporters of the CNRP.
But the NEC, despite denying migrant workers the right to vote, has claimed otherwise, saying every person deserves to be able to participate in the country’s elections.
NEC secretary-general Tep Nytha said last week that soldiers should collaborate with local authorities to ensure every soldier is registered to vote.
“We do not have a law to establish voting stations at the place where the soldiers stay, so they will vote at the commune administration office. Soldiers are citizens who have the right to vote like regular citizens,” he said.
Last week, the NEC said it would allow soldiers – who traditionally have supported the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) – to vote at the polling stations closest to their garrisons instead of in their home provinces, but refused to do the same for migrant workers – traditionally supporters of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – who are living abroad, specifically those working in Thailand who are trying to vote in communes along the border.
NEC spokesman Hang Puthea said they would be unable to help the roughly one million Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand because the “NEC can’t do anything illegal.”
“We examined the legal aspects, and it’s not allowed by the NEC to follow the request. The law says they can register to vote where they live, but the problem is that they live in Thailand,” he said.
“Although they have national ID cards, they do not fulfill enough conditions.”
Mr. Puthea claimed migrant workers and soldiers were different because the armed forces “maintained security and public order” during elections.
“The difference between workers and the military is that soldiers stay in the location where they work in the commune, and the soldier can register as they are people among the 70,000 who maintain security and public order during voting, so they cannot go home on time. But the workers stay in Thailand,” he said.
CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann declined to comment on the situation.
On Tuesday, CNRP acting president Kem Sokha sent a letter to NEC president Sik Bun Hok begging them to allow migrant workers – who were showing up at the border in droves each day to register for the commune elections – to register and vote in communes along the Thai border.
Migrant workers are often unable to return to their homes for elections due to time and money constraints. Most are working in low-paying factory jobs or as housemaids and cannot travel back to their home communes in Cambodia for elections.
Mr. Sokha’s letter says border officials made registration efforts difficult for those who arrived and they tried to dissuade people from registering to vote in next year’s elections.
“We request that the National Election Committee intervene for Cambodian workers who are working in Thailand and want voter registration at polling stations located in communes near the Cambodia-Thailand border in accordance with the law,” the letter says.
The CNRP said that on July 9 and last Sunday, about 600 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand came to register to vote in commune offices along the Cambodia-Thai border in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces.
But commune chiefs in those areas refused to give out living certificates – a document necessary for voters trying to register – and turned them away.
The letter added that to ensure the voting rights of every Cambodian citizen, as stipulated in the constitution and Election Law, the NEC must rectify this situation and allow migrant workers to register to vote in communes along the border with Thailand.
Koul Panha, president of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said officials had difficulty in the past when it came to the locations for voter registration for populations that did not work in their home communes.
If they can do this for soldiers, the NEC should cooperate with authorities to implement a confirmed living certificate for Cambodian workers who need to register near their jobs, Mr. Panha said.
“In the future, they also need to discuss and change some voter registration systems allowing people to register where they live or allowing them to arrange for registration in Thailand and to confirm the place where they live and transfer the data through computers so they can register from anywhere for everywhere.
“It’s not a problem of financial commitment, it’s a problem of political commitment,” Mr. Panha told Khmer Times last year. “It’s not easy for political parties to control [voters abroad] or influence them. They live far from here, from the [political] campaigns and engagement.”
“Many [voters abroad] don’t like the ruling party,” said Sourn Serey Ratha, the head of the Khmer People Power Movement. “If the ruling party allows the overseas people to vote, then they will not vote for them.”
Opposition party members have aired concerns in the past about the government’s refusal to create systems that would allow Cambodia’s sizable expatriate population to vote in elections. Some within the opposition say the government’s refusal is rooted in the fact that most Cambodians living abroad are to varying degrees supporters of the CNRP.
But the NEC, despite denying migrant workers the right to vote, has claimed otherwise, saying every person deserves to be able to participate in the country’s elections.
NEC secretary-general Tep Nytha said last week that soldiers should collaborate with local authorities to ensure every soldier is registered to vote.
“We do not have a law to establish voting stations at the place where the soldiers stay, so they will vote at the commune administration office. Soldiers are citizens who have the right to vote like regular citizens,” he said.
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