With voter registration wrapping up last week, the National Election Committee over the weekend issued a call for the public to submit their evaluations of the rules that will govern the June 4 commune elections – the first popular ballot since the disputed 2013 national election.

The NEC announcement, issued on Saturday, says a copy of the 15-chapter document has been forwarded to nine political parties and 19 other relevant organisations, including elections monitor Comfrel, and that they have until December 22 to submit comments or concerns.

Copies were also sent to a number of government ministries, the announcement says, including the Defence Ministry, as well as to the local delegations of Japan and the European Union, the two main donors to the NEC in its efforts to run clean elections next year and in 2018.

NEC spokesman Hang Puthea said all suggestions would be taken into consideration – so long as they are legal – and that the regulations would have to be in place before March, when the NEC will start accepting party registration for the commune elections.