Derek and Mary Jane Sign up to Observe

This morning I investigated the possibility of being a foreign observer of the elections this Sunday. The US Embassy referred me to the local NGO NICFEC (partly funded by the National Demoncratic Institute which is chaired by Madeleine Albright). NICFEC is responsible for managing the local observers and accepts foreign observers. We were too late to be one of the formal poll observers registered with the National Election Commission, but we can still participate. We will be doing mobile observation of polling stations, including noting whether political parties have signage within 100 meters of the polling station, and interviewing NICFEC Cambodian observers as part of their own monitoring process. We will be doing things like verifying whether the NICFEC observers were trained, have their manuals and whether the monitor seemed competent. Tomorrow morning we meet the translator who will be joining us (and we will pay him) because most Cambodian observers do not speak English. We will write each day for the next several days to keep you informed.