Four of the 17 political parties that participated in the 2022 commune elections have requested to register their parties and nominate candidates for the 5th Senate election next year.

The four political parties are the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the Khmer Will Party, the National Power Party and the Funcinpec Party.

A press release on the outcome of the meeting of the National Election Committee (NEC) said yesterday the NEC has decided to officially accept the applications for registration.

But, Funcinpec will submit a declaration of its bank accounts, including any party donations reported to the National Bank of Cambodia.

Each party must deposit 15 million riels to prove their financial capability and attach a receipt issued by the General Department of the National Treasury to the NEC.

Dim Sovannarom, Member of the NEC, said that in accordance with the Law on the Amendment of the Election Law, new Article 13 of the Law on the Amendment of the Law on the Election of Senators and Article 23 of the New Law on the Amendment of the Election Law, anyone who stands for the election must be a Cambodian citizen by birth.

Anyone who stands for the election must be at least 40-years-old, have the right to vote and have their names registered on the voter list, and had voted at least twice in the elections, he added.
Regarding complaints and resolutions related to the registration of political parties and candidates, if a party does not meet all the conditions, the NEC will issue a letter of notification to that political party requesting the needed amendments to be completed no later than five days after receiving the notice, he added.

If the conditions set by the NEC are not met, the NEC will consider that the party has abandoned its registration and will not be able to stand for the election, Sovannarom added. The registration of political parties and the list of candidates for the Senate election took place from November 27 to December 11.

The election campaign will be held from February 10 to 23, 2024.

Voting, counting and announcing the results of the Senate election will take place on February 25, 2024 from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm.

After the voting is completed, the count will be conducted immediately at the polling station. The NEC will announce the preliminary results of the election online, the NEC added.

The official election results will be announced no later than April 2, 2024 or before the due date.

Senate election is non-public, with votes cast only by members of the National Assembly and commune councillors. It is held every six years.

The Senate shall compose of as many as half of the entire members of the National Assembly. Two senators shall be appointed by the King and two others shall be elected in majority by the National Assembly.

• Tags: CPP, NEC