A year after a major overhaul, the National Election Committee (NEC) issued a statement touting its achievements – including testing electronic voter registration and consulting donors like the EU and Japan – with one observer saying that despite criticism of the deal that reformed the body, it appeared to be improving.

In the April 12 statement, the NEC said it will release rules for its voter registration process at the end of this month, and Korn Keomono, head of the news and public relations department at the NEC, said yesterday that the new online registration system was tested in one commune in each province, but had hit a few bumps.

“The first problem is that some provinces have no internet services and also we lack human resources who know how to use computer systems,” he said.

Koul Panha, executive director at election watchdog Comfrel, said the new NEC seemed to be on target to achieving its goals, and appeared more receptive to input than in years past.

“But we have to keep an eye if they change [away from] this attitude for reform.”