Parties come clean on election funds
campaigning and that all its funding came from “contri- butions and donations” from members.
“Election penses in campaign exthe capital and some provinces amount to between $5,000 and $30,000. It came from party contributions and was spent on printing pamphlets, shirts, hats, car rentals, gasoline, water and food,” he said.
LDP president Khem Veasna said this week that his party’s roughly $3 million budget was from donations and that its Phnom Penh rally cost $1.5 million while events in Siem Reap cost a total of $40,000.
“The money did not come from our headquarters but party supporters’ contributions,” he said.
Funcinpec lawmaker and spokesperson Nheb Bun Chhin said he could not reveal the total amount spent on the election campaign as yet, but that each province spent between $70,000 and $150,000, depending on what they could raise.
“We have a budget plan for spending, but no actual money to spend, so we need to raise money together. Some provinces needed $150,000, while others needed only $100,000. Compared with other parties, we spend less than what they do for a single commune.”
Election watchdog Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Nicfec) director Sam Kuntheamy said some parties spent three or four million, while others claimed they spent $200,000 to $300,000.
“We just want to know if their expenses are balanced or not,” he said.