Opposition to hold demonstration on election reform

VOA 
PHNOM PENH - The Cambodia National Rescue Party says it will lead a demonstration of opposition supporters later this month to demand election reforms.

Some 4,000 protesters are expected to meet at Freedom Park, an authorized gathering place in the capital, and march to the headquarters of the National Election Committee, demanding changes within the government’s election body to ensure free and fair elections, Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the party said.

“We’ve advocated for a long time on the reform of the NEC, but the government has ignored it,” he said. “In the end, only holding a demonstration will find a resolution.”

International observers, including the UN and the US, have called for changes within the NEC, which opposition lawmakers say is biased toward the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, in the run-up to July elections.

A spokesman from the Ministry of Interior told VOA Khmer that if the party does not have permission to hold a demonstration, the gathering will be disbanded.

Tep Nitha, a spokesman for the NEC, said the committee has followed the law and will not be swayed by politics.