The National Election Committee (NEC) held an April 10 training session on the registration of political parties and candidates for the 7th parliamentary election, with 129 representatives of state institutions, political parties and NGOs in attendance.

According to the NEC, the session was organised in an effort to ensure that the registration of political parties and the release of the list of candidates go smoothly and efficiently.

NEC general-secretary Tep Nytha addressed the closing ceremony of the event, saying the training was required to ensure that the listing of political parties and candidates complies with all applicable laws and procedures, and is quick and easy.

“We have strengthened the capacity of election officials and stakeholders to better understand the provisions of laws, regulations and procedures for the election and techniques for preparing candidate lists through both computerised and manual verification,” he said.

“This training varied from previous sessions, due to the increased use of information technology,” he added.

Nhoeun Raden, spokesman for the FUNCINPEC Party, said party officials had attended the training because it was necessary for all stakeholders to understand the procedures for registering parties and lists of candidates for the general election.

“It is very important that all political parties are aware of how to prepare nomination documents so there are no mistakes, or delays to the process,” he said.

The NEC calendar declares that the registration period for political parties and candidate lists is 15 days, from April 24 to May 8.