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US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Piper Campbell and her colleague, Chhavirak Chan, on their way to observe Cambodian national election in Koh Dach island, Muk Kompul district, Kandal province.
U.S. Embassy Teams Observe Elections Throughout the Country
Cambodia
July 28, 2008
On July 27th, 2008 the United States Embassy in Phnom Penh joined other international colleagues and sent out 47 election observation teams which crisscrossed the country in order to monitor the balloting process in hundreds of polling stations. The focus was not just on the larger cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Riep - the teams also visited small villages in 18 of the country’s 24 provinces, some whose populations were in the hundreds. Most teams consisted of an American and a Cambodian observer who were on the lookout for any irregularities which may have affected the process at each location. The majority of the teams had few problems to report, and the overall impression of the group was that this year’s election was conducted in a peaceful manner with professional conduct by most polling staff and party agents.
The Embassy supported the election in other ways as well. In the weeks before the 27th, the Mission, through USAID, supported a number of political debates – including some which were televised. Students and concerned citizens filled the audiences. We were pleased with the participation by the political parties in the debates, and hope that they helped inform Cambodian citizens about the major issues that were the focus of this election cycle.
In the coming weeks we are looking forward to seeing the official results when they are issued by the National Election Commission, and to working with the new Cambodian government when formed.
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