Friday, 6 June 2008

NEC Issues Debate Questions to Parties

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
05 June 2008

Khmer audio aired 5 June 2008 (1.11 MB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 5 June 2008 (1.11 MB) - Listen (MP3)

The National Election Committee on Thursday issued a list of questions to all the competing political parties for July's general elections, in preparation for a series of roundtable debates to be held in the upcoming campaign period.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said each of the 15 questions was important for helping voters decide on which party might serve them best.

The questions focus on the economy, corruption, natural environment, tourism, social security, justice, immigration, rule of law, public health, land disputes, foreign policy, prostitution, drugs, international borders, rights of women and children, rural development, poverty reduction and education.

Kuol Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said the prepared questions would not benefit the voters, because the questions and answers would be prepared ahead of the debates. A system of live questions and answers between voters and candidates would help inform the election, he said.

Political party officials said they were preparing to answer the questions according to their platforms.

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