The National Election Committee (NEC) announced that it has selected a form of identification for the security officials who will be responsible for safety and public order during this year’s general election. The guards will be on duty from July 22, the day before the election, until the NEC deems them unnecessary.
According to the January 6 announcement, the guards will wear light blue armbands cut from a light cloth. The 12cm wide bands display the NEC’s logo and the words “Election Security Agent 2023”.
All official election security personnel must wear the armbands on their left upper arms while on duty, with the NEC logo and words visible.
NEC spokesman Som Sorida said the security forces that would use the armbands would be provided by the government. The NEC’s guidelines state that each polling station must have three security guards, one inside the station and two outside. The two guards stationed outside must remain within 100m of the polling station.
“Public order must be protected during the upcoming election,” he added.
Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of the NGO Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), said the armbands would make it easy to identify the security team at each polling station.
“The NEC makes sure security is provided at every election, so it needs an efficient way to identify them to the public,” he added.
