Hun Sen wins election but opposition gains ground
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Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won Sunday's national elections but not withnearly as resounding a victory as many had predicted, preliminary results showed.
Initial results showed the CPP leading with 68 of parliament's 123 seats and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) following closely behind with 55 mandates. In 2008, the CPP won the lion's share of the vote with 90 seats.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith listed the preliminary figures in a Facebook post, and cabinet spokesman Phay Siphanconfirmed them while stressing the results were not yet official.
The National Election Committee (NEC) expected to release official results Monday. The CNRP neither conceded defeat nor challenged the outcome, saying it would wait for the official results.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who was barred from running in the poll due to criminal convictions he contends were politically motivated, had told reporters he expected Hun Sen's party to win as they had stacked the odds in their favour.
"It's a foregone conclusion," Rainsy said. "We take part in this election knowing it's not a real election, our decision to take partin this election is to be with the people, who want change."
Aside from Rainsy's exclusion from the polls, factors such as a largely government-controlled media and an election committee stacked with ruling-party supporters have been cited as favouring the CPP. Two independent audits earlier this year found that the voter list could disenfranchise 1 million eligible voters.
While some observers predicted the opposition could make some gains, the return last week of Rainsy, who had lived abroad for years to avoid prison, sparked a groundswell of CNRP support.
The unprecedented support for the opposition was seen as the biggest setback the ruling CPP have suffered since Cambodia's first democratic elections in 1993.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith listed the preliminary figures in a Facebook post, and cabinet spokesman Phay Siphanconfirmed them while stressing the results were not yet official.
The National Election Committee (NEC) expected to release official results Monday. The CNRP neither conceded defeat nor challenged the outcome, saying it would wait for the official results.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who was barred from running in the poll due to criminal convictions he contends were politically motivated, had told reporters he expected Hun Sen's party to win as they had stacked the odds in their favour.
"It's a foregone conclusion," Rainsy said. "We take part in this election knowing it's not a real election, our decision to take partin this election is to be with the people, who want change."
Aside from Rainsy's exclusion from the polls, factors such as a largely government-controlled media and an election committee stacked with ruling-party supporters have been cited as favouring the CPP. Two independent audits earlier this year found that the voter list could disenfranchise 1 million eligible voters.
While some observers predicted the opposition could make some gains, the return last week of Rainsy, who had lived abroad for years to avoid prison, sparked a groundswell of CNRP support.
The unprecedented support for the opposition was seen as the biggest setback the ruling CPP have suffered since Cambodia's first democratic elections in 1993.
Hun Sen, 60, who has led the impoverished South-East Asian country for 28 years, has strong grassroots support in rural areas, where he is credited with bringing peace, stability and economic growth to a nation that saw 1.7 million people perish under the ultra-Marxist Khmer Rouge.
The CNRP's platform of a higher minimum wage, pensions for the elderly and an end to the current government's continual land grabs has gained some traction among Cambodians. Thousands have take to the streets to call for change.
Voting was mostly peaceful, but there was isolated violence including an incident in which a mob overturned and set fire to two police vehicles, after people could not find their names on the voter list at a Phnom Penh polling station.
During the voting, Rainsy appealed for calm but warned of a "risk of violence" if people felt the election had been rigged.
The US embassy called on its citizens in the country to "limit their movements," citing "potential for civil unrest over the next few days."
The CNRP's platform of a higher minimum wage, pensions for the elderly and an end to the current government's continual land grabs has gained some traction among Cambodians. Thousands have take to the streets to call for change.
Voting was mostly peaceful, but there was isolated violence including an incident in which a mob overturned and set fire to two police vehicles, after people could not find their names on the voter list at a Phnom Penh polling station.
During the voting, Rainsy appealed for calm but warned of a "risk of violence" if people felt the election had been rigged.
The US embassy called on its citizens in the country to "limit their movements," citing "potential for civil unrest over the next few days."
