Migration blamed for low voter registration figures
National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea on November 20 said the body will likely miss its target of registering 9.6 million eligible voters because of the large number of Cambodian migrant workers who have failed to register. The NEC and political parties have been appealing to citizens to register for the upcoming commune and national elections after registration numbers fell below the body’s own targetof 100,000 per day. As of yesterday only 7.3 million voters had registered with nine days left before the drive ends. “As the institution in charge of organising elections, we are concerned,” Puthea said. “The NEC has already done what we can. It is now left to people’s participation.” Puthea said that of the 2.3 million people yet to register, close to two million were migrant workers. Additionally, the lack of proper documentation and people registering in their home province as opposed to their current residence had resulted in seemingly low registration numbers for certain provinces.
