NEC validates early Senate results

NATIONAL Election Committee (NEC) spokesperson Hang Puthea has confirmed the validity of preliminary results from the February 25 Senate election.

This followed the completion of review and verification by the NEC, which received results at its headquarters on February 27.

Representatives from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the Khmer Will Party (KWP), along with four NGOs and several reporters, were present for inspecting and verifying the results.

“The vote counting and summation processes have been verified as accurate. The NEC will now prepare a provisional list, which will be made public to allow political parties to file complaints if they disagree with the election results,” he said.

Top Rithy, director-general of the NEC’s General Department of Technical and Legal Services, told reporters on February 27 that following the submission of initial results by electoral commissions in the capital and provinces, the NEC established three working groups to process the data.

“After reviewing and submitting the data to the NEC for approval, we will provisionally announce the results on February 29. Following the announcement, contesting parties will have 72 hours to file complaints. If there are no complaints, the NEC will announce the formal results and the elected candidates,” he said.

According to the preliminary results, the CPP secured a majority in the eight regions, obtaining 55 seats with a total of 10,052 votes. The KWP won three seats with 1,394 votes. Neither FUNCINPEC nor the Nation Power Party (NPP) won any seats.