Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-07-Speech-4-197"
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"en.20020207.10.4-197"2
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".
Mr President, the European Commission agrees with Parliament that priority must be given to supporting basic democratic institutions in Cambodia. That is why we spent EUR three million in the form of technical assistance to ensure that the recent municipal elections ran smoothly and why we sent observers from the European Union at Cambodia's request. The European Commission coordinated a total of 120 observers in Cambodia on the day of the election. This is the first time we have sent observers for purely local elections. I must say that I was especially pleased that Carlos Costa Neves headed the mission, as this shows that Parliament and the Commission are now working even more closely together on election observer missions.
According to initial reports, preparations for the elections and polling arrangements went smoothly and voters arrived peacefully and in an orderly manner. We did, of course, receive reports of incidents of violence, murder and intimidation which are giving us serious cause for concern and which took place despite the fact that both the government and the other political parties stated they wanted no violence during the elections. And we consider that media coverage of the elections was biased. As the electoral process has not yet been completed, the results have not yet been announced and accusations and appeals have not yet been filed, it is too soon to draw any final conclusions as to how the elections passed. But clearly, for the first time in its history, the people of Cambodia had the opportunity to vote for local councillors and they turned out
in order to do so.
The European Commission representation, together with European Union diplomatic missions in Cambodia, will continue to monitor progress in the post-election period. Only then shall we be in a position to evaluate the full importance of efforts to ensure that this country continues on the road to democracy."@en1
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