A CPP Supporter Falsely Claims That Thumbprint Is Needed in Sunday’s Poll!
As Cambodia is heading to its main election this weekend, a video claim going viral on social media claims that a voter making a ballot invalid could be identified later because the electoral body regulates the thumbprint of every voter. Khmer-speaking social media users have widely shared and commented on the claim. However, after an interview with election officials, we found the claim is false.
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM
A Facebook user named Khan Chansophal said in an 11-minute video posted on his individual account that the electoral body regulates each voter to leave his/her thumbprint on the ballot. He added that this is necessary to identify those individuals making ballots their ballot invalid.
The claim has been going viral on social media, with many shares and reactions from Cambodian Facebook users as the country is approaching its main election this Sunday.
Watch the full video uploaded to Facebook on July 20th by Khan Chansophal, widely known as one of the key supporters of the country’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
Sophal also uploaded his video claim on his verified Facebook page but took down the video after a few hours.
Below is the video of Sophal's claim, which was archived before it was taken down.
However, the same video has got countrywide attention as it had been uploaded by many other social media users – leading to viral shares and comments from Facebook users.
Watch the full video below, which was uploaded by another pro-CPP supporter, Neak Tep, on his Facebook profile.
Even media outlets carried the full claim made by Sophal as seen here with News4Youth. This video post got a lot of reactions and shares.
Some other instances of CPP activists sharing this video can be watched in these links. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo Cambodia began debunking the claim by interviewing with the election official and reviewing the country’s election-related regulations.
Responding to an inquiry from Fact Crescendo Cambodia, Dim Sovannarom, a Spokesperson for the National Election Committee (NEC), downplayed the claim and referred to the newly amended articles of the country’s constitution and the NEC regulations.
Based on articles adapted early this month and the election-related regulations, we found no fingerprint or thumbprint is regulated for any of the elections.
Mao Nuon – an official of the electoral body in Battambang’s O’Char commune – told Fact Crescendo Cambodia on phone that the electoral national level has never informed her of such new regulations.
Nuon added the claim saying a voter is needed to give a thumbprint or fingerprint is a fake news, clarifying this has never happened in the country’s election history at all.
Below is the clarification from Mao Nuon from O’Char commune in Battambang province in her response to an inquiry from Fact Crescendo Cambodia.
In its guiding book which is available on the electoral body’s site, NEC gives instructions for voters below:
Step 1: A voter needs to check his/her personal information announced on a white board.
Step 2: A vote is required to stay in queue for his/her turn.
Step 3: A voter walks into the poll station and shows his/her hands to the officer, who checks where there are black ink markings.
Step 4: Then the voter shows his/her personal information to a clerk to verify information listed in the voter list.
Step 5: Afterwards voter walks to the next table to get a ballot stamped by the deputy head of the poll station.
Step 6: Now the voter proceeds to an unoccupied ballot marking box where she/he secretly votes for only one of the political parties and then folds the ballot.
Step 7: The voter then proceeds to ballot box container and inserts the folded ballot to the box, under the supervision of officials.
Step 8: A voter goes to get finger inked before she/he leaves the poll room.
Hence, it’s clear that marking his/ her fingerprint/thumbprint is not a requirement in casting the vote. In fact, any excessive marking on the ballot paper, which would make it hard to identify the vote, would make the ballot invalid.
These false claims are propagated in the context that the ruling CPP is appealing to voters to correctly mark the ballots, as the opposition leaders have urged people to cross the whole ballots making them invalid. This request is made from the opposition leaders, to express their dissatisfaction against injustice, after the main opposition party Candlelight Party (CLP) was not allowed to compete in the election race.
A person who urges voters to make ballots invalid will be penalized, according to the newly amended articles of the country’s constitution which was proposed by the Hun Sen-led government last month and adapted just weeks before the election day.
CONCLUSION
Therefore, Fact Crescendo Cambodia found the claim of mandating the fingerprint to be marked in the ballot paper to be false. No fingerprint or thumbprint of a voter is regulated by the National Election Committee.
Title:A CPP Supporter Falsely Claims That Thumbprint Is Needed in Sunday’s Poll!
Written By: Jay UdomResult: False
