Cambodia’s ruling party led by Hun Sen wins majority in July 28 general election

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, foreground, shows off his inked finger at a polling station in Takhmau town, south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 28, 2013. (Photo : AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen won a majority vote in Sunday’s general elections, indicating that the prime minister, who has ruled the country for 28 years, will continue to stay in power for another five years. “Preliminary results shows that the ruling CPP gained 68 seats and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) got the remaining 55 seats in the polls,” Khieu Kanharith, spokesman for the government and the CPP, told Xinhua over telephone Sunday evening. “This is an estimate, but if it’s wrong, just one or two seats only,” he said.

CNRP leader Sam Rainsy on Sunday night urged people to keep calm and wait for the official results. “I’d like to urge compatriots to avoid any violence and activities that can lead to social unrest,”he said in a statement.

The official results from the National Election Committee are still unavailable by far. Despite winning the victory, the ruling CPP saw a remarkable decline in the numbers of seats it attained. In the last elections in 2008, the party won up to 90 seats out of the 123 seats in parliament. While the opposition party saw a sharp increase in the numbers of seats from only 29 seats in the elections in 2008.

Sam Rainsy, center, President of Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) greets villagers during a tour to visit polling station at Chak Angre Leu pagoda, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 28, 2013. (Photo : AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Eight political parties contested in the polls Sunday with some 9.67 million voters and about 40,456 national and international observers. Im Suosdey, chairman of the National Election Committee, said Sunday’s polls had been conducted smoothly, despite the violence that broke out in a communal election committee office in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district. “The election process had been conducted smoothly in all cities and provinces,”he told reporters.

According to the chairman, two military cars and an election committee car were destroyed during clashes between groups of young protestors and the police. The cars were set on fire by protestors, and police had fired several shots into the air to disperse them.

In a separate press briefing Sunday evening, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng said in general, the situation was good and calm. “On the election day, everything has gone smoothly as planned,” he said. According to the constitution, the first session of the new National Assembly will be convened no later than 60 days after the elections. <Xinhua/NEWSis>