IRI Cambodia conducted assessments and observation of Cambodia's 2003 National Assembly elections, taking place on 27 July. Among IRI election observers were elected officials, election experts, political professionals and foreign policy specialists from the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia and Mongolia. From January to July 2003, a 61-member team of credentialed observers was deployed in the pre-election and election days, in 18 out of the 24 provinces in the country. When compared to the previous elections, there was an improvement with the 2003 National Assembly elections but it still failed to meet recognized international standards for democratic elections. The overall integrity of the electoral process was critically compromised by factors that unfairly handicapped the political opposition in its election campaign and impeded a substantial number of Cambodian citizens from exercising their franchise without fear of reprisal.

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