The National Election Committee (NEC) on Friday launched a radio campaign to educate Cambodians about upcoming commune elections and to counter misinformation about the June 4 poll.

According to an NEC announcement on Friday, the campaign will last through June 6, and will also broadcast initial election returns. According to the release, the campaign will air live on FM radio in every province at noon and during the evenings. Each program will feature a Phnom Penh or provincial election committee representative who will take questions from callers.

NEC spokesman Hang Puthea said yesterday that this is the first time the NEC will use live, interactive radio broadcasts. Previous NEC information campaigns only involved leaflets, educational spots and loudspeakers mounted on vehicles, he said.

“The NEC noticed that each election period there is some [incorrect] information spread . . . so the NEC has to work hard to provide the real information to the public to prevent any deceptive information or political gain,” he said.

Moeun Tola, head of labour rights group Central, which belongs to a coalition of civil society observers that intends to monitor the elections for irregularities, said he welcomed the NEC radio campaign, though it should have started earlier.

“Now it is close to election day . . . so we are not sure if this broadcast can help the public to understand about the election procedure,” he said.