The National Election Committee (NEC) on Tuesday released its new voter registration list in an effort to promote transparency ahead of local elections scheduled for June.
More than 8,000 duplicate names were discovered on the list and swiftly removed.
Officials and voters welcomed the release of the new list, following a contentious period of voter registration, saying new methods of registration, such as requiring a photograph to accompany an entry, would help combat fraud.
Trerng Samray, 70, a Phnom Penh resident, said the new list format had made it easier to crosscheck information.
“The new list attaches a photo, so it’s more accurate. If I find any errors, I’ll complain to the authorities,” he said.
Hak Sarom, 48, an Environment Ministry official, said the voter registration process, on the whole, had run more smoothly than in the past.
“My family’s and my name are all correct. It didn’t take much time to verify.”
Hang Puthea, NEC spokesman, said the voter list would be publicly available until January 14 so that Cambodians could verify if it was accurate.
NEC’s spokesperson Hang Puthea addresses the press after having a meeting with senior CNRP lawmakers at the National Election Committee (NEC) on Friday, November 25, 2016 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Leng Len/VOA Khmer)
“If they find any incorrect information, they can file a complaint to the commune officer to correct it for them. And if they aren’t satisfied with the solutions offered by the commune officer, they can also report it to the NEC and Constitutional Council.”
Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of election watchdog NICFEC, however, said publicizing the voter registration list online would not reach the wider public unless it went “viral”.
“It’s very important to make the announcement go viral. Not so many people know about this and will come to cross-check their information.”
The new voter list is available online at: http://voterlist.org.kh.