Report on Voter Registration Audit in Cambodia

Cambodian elections have made remarkable progress since 1993. Although the 2007 Commune Council elections were one of the best so far, a low voter turnout (67%) raised concerns among the election stakeholders. The low turnout led stakeholders to question the quality of the voters list. The National Election Committee (NEC), political parties and civil society organizations urged NICFEC and COMFREL – Cambodia’s two leading election monitoring organizations (EMOs) to conduct a scientific audit of the current voters list to identify the problems. The EMOs approached National Democratic Institute for International Affairs’ (NDI) Cambodia office for assistance to which NDI agreed. NDI also engaged the Center for Advanced Study (CAS), a reputable research organization to provide technical assistance with the audit.