Cambodia’s ruling party scores landslide win in commune elections: official results

PHNOM PENH, June 24– The ruling Cambodian People’s Party of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen won a landslide victory in the fifth commune elections on June 5, according to official results released by the National Election Committee on Friday. The NEC said the CPP won 9,376 seats, or 80.6 percent, while the main opposition Candlelight Party got 2,198 seats, or…

PHNOM PENH, June 24 (Xinhua) — The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen won a landslide victory in the fifth commune elections on June 5, according to official results released by the National Election Committee (NEC) on Friday.

Seventeen political parties contested in the polls for the 11,622 positions of commune councilors in 1,652 communes across the Southeast Asian nation for the next five years.

The NEC said the CPP won 9,376 seats, or 80.6 percent, while the main opposition Candlelight Party got 2,198 seats, or 18.9 percent.

It added that the Funcinpec party earned 19 seats, the Khmer National United Party got 13, the Grassroots Democratic Party won six, the Cambodian Nation Love Party gained five, the Cambodian Youth Party took three, and the Kampucheaniyum Party and the Beehive Social Democratic Party got one each.

NEC’s chairman Prach Chan said the voter turnout was 7.39 million, or 80.3 percent of the 9.2 million registered voters.

“It was a successful election with a peaceful atmosphere,” he said. “Security, safety and public order were well maintained, and no incidents or acts of violence were reported.”

The commune polls are seen as a test for the popularity of political parties ahead of the general elections in July 2023. Enditem