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PHNOM PENH: The communal election in Cambodia on Sunday (Jun 4) recorded a "highly satisfactory" voter turnout of 85.74 per cent of the total registered voters, Cambodian election watchdog COMFREL told reporters after the poll closed.

COMFREL (Committee for Free and Fair Elections) said this year's voter turnout was higher than that of any elections in previous years, including the 65.1 per cent in the 2012 communal election.

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The poll started at 7am local time and closed at 3pm. No major voting irregularities have been reported so far, the watchdog told reporters at a press conference in the capital Phnom Penh. Some minor complaints included a lack of voting materials and voters being prevented from observing vote counting at certain polling booths.



3pm: Polls closed. Vote counting began. Preliminary result of Cambodian communal election by National Election Committee by 5pm local time. pic.twitter.com/69JBye3CDv — Pichayada P. (@PichayadaCNA) June 4, 2017





More than 7.8 million eligible voters registered for the Sunday election, which covers 1,646 communes nationwide. According to the National Election Committee (NEC), about 6.74 million people showed up to cast their ballots.



Ballots cast by millions of Cambodians are being counted in polling stations nationwide. Election observers present to monitor vote counting pic.twitter.com/rrtzqXseSV — Pichayada P. (@PichayadaCNA) June 4, 2017





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COMFREL deployed 14,580 observers at polling stations across Cambodia this year. The group also launched a mobile application and telephone hotline to receive complaints about voting irregularities.



During the election campaign period, which lasted between May 20 and Jun 2, 97 complaints were received. About 90 of them have been resolved, according to the watchdog.



Prior to the polling day, some observers in Kandal province claimed they had been intimidated by local authorities and decided to withdraw from their duty.



Preliminary election results released by the NEC showed that it was a very tight race between Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP and Kem Sokha's opposition CNRP, with the opposition leading in urban areas such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and the ruling party claiming victory in a number of rural areas.





The official result will be announced on Jun 25.</s>The Introduction

Cambodia will hold commune/sangkat council elections on June 4, when 94,595 candidates from 12 political parties will compete for the 11,572 seats in rural and urban precincts. The ruling Cambodian People's Party and its main rival, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, are running candidates for every seat in the 1,646 communes that make up the country of nearly 16 million people. The royalist FUNCINPEC party is running the third-largest slate of candidates, competing in 846 communes. Campaigning starts on May 20 and runs for 14 days.</s>PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia’s opposition made significant gains in local elections against the ruling party of authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Sunday, according to the first results.

President of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) Kem Sokha casts his vote during local elections in Kandal province, Cambodia June 4, 2017. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

The election for more than 1,600 communes would not mean a major shift in power, but could be a springboard for next year’s general election, in which Hun Sen aims to extend more than three decades in power in the Southeast Asian country.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) won 11 out of the first 80 communes for which results were declared. In the last local election, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won 97 percent against a divided opposition.

“This is a huge success for the CNRP,” said opposition parliamentarian Yim Sovann. He told a news briefing that preliminary results from party agents showed it had won about 46 percent of the communes.

A pro-government news site gave results suggesting the opposition had won around a third of the communes.

Human rights groups had accused Hun Sen’s government of undermining democracy after his campaign warnings of violence if his party did not keep control and the arrest of some prominent critics and activists.

But no major trouble was reported on Sunday.

On his Facebook page, Hun Sen hailed the election as smooth and successful.

Transparency International Cambodia, which had more than 1,000 independent observers monitoring the poll, said it “went smoothly with little to no violence or intimidation and with most polling officials following proper procedures.”

During the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s some 1.8 million people died from starvation, torture, exhaustion or disease in labour camps or were bludgeoned to death during mass executions.

Since former Khmer Rouge soldier Hun Sen came to power, Cambodia has emerged from decades of conflict to clock annual growth rates above 7 percent.

But Hun Sen’s critics say corruption is widespread, and the opposition did unexpectedly well in a 2013 general election.

Cambodia’s defence minister said during the campaign that if anyone protests against the results of the election on Sunday they will be “beaten until their teeth come out”.

(Corrects ruling party name in paragraph 3 of June 4 story)</s>Cambodia’s embattled opposition made significant gains in this weekend’s local elections, early results showed on Monday, a vote closely watched for signs of vulnerability in one of the world’s longest-serving leaders. More than seven million Cambodians voted in yesterday’s commune elections, the first time they have headed to the polls since 2013’s disputed election result.

The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has been run by prime minister Hun Sen for 32 years, a charismatic and wily strongman who tolerates little dissent and is accused of cracking down on the opposition in the run up to the vote.

National elections will be held in 2018 and Sunday’s vote was viewed as a warm up for those crunch polls.

In recent weeks Hun Sen has delivered a series of increasingly shrill speeches warning of civil war if his reign is toppled next year.

By early today both the premier’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) released preliminary figures that tallied with each other.

They showed some 51 per cent of the popular votes going to Hun Sen’s CPP and 46 per cent to the opposition.

Both sides portrayed the results as a victory.

“This is a big success for the CNRP,” opposition party spokesman Yim Sovann told reporters.

In a Facebook post, Hun Sen hailed the result as “another victory” for his party adding: “The vote in 2018 won’t be much different from the vote in this election.”

But the opposition have particular reason to be optimistic.

If the popular vote is confirmed they would hold some 500 of the country’s 1,646 communes, up from 40 won five years ago.

The National Election Commission is expected to release preliminary results over the coming days which can then be challenged for discrepancies. Final official results will be published until June 25.

Sunday’s result suggests they have managed to grow their appeal even as the government cracks down on them and their supporters.

Rights groups and the opposition have accused Hun Sen of using the courts to pursue CNRP figures as well as dissidents and rights workers.

A tally by Amnesty International counts some 27 political prisoners placed behind bars since 2013 with dozens of ongoing prosecutions against others.

Supporters see the 64-year-old Hun Sen as a beacon of stability while detractors accuse him and a coterie of allies of huge self-enrichment, corruption and autocracy.

In a possible sign of nerves Hun Sen broke with his tradition of avoiding the campaign trail to lead a major CPP rally on Friday in Phnom Penh.

The opposition has proven particularly popular among young voters, who often complain about a culture of corruption that only seems to benefit a wealthy elite or those with the right connections.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>Millions of voters cast ballots in Sunday’s Commune Council elections, which serves as a litmus of party support ahead of next year’s national elections.

The premier reiterated that the CPP is the majority party in the national assembly in 2018 and will continue to be the ruling party.

“Some people claim that the CPP lost. The only thing they know is a tree, not the whole forest”, the premier wrote on his Facebook post on Sunday.

“The CPP received 3.5 million votes out of a possible 6.7 million. This shows an increase of 300,000 votes compared to the election in 2013,” he added.

According to the National Election Committee’s preliminary result, voter turnout was 85.74 percent, or 6.7 million of the 7.8 million Cambodians who had registered to vote, compared to about 65 percent in the 2012 local elections.

The Cambodian People’s Party is led by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The party secured 1,163 of the 1,646 commune council head chief posts.</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he was confident of keeping power in next year's general election after the opposition's gains in local elections fell short of their hopes.

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he was confident of keeping power in next year's general election after the opposition's gains in local elections fell short of their hopes.

Communal elections on Sunday were widely seen as a test of strength for opponents of Hun Sen, one of Asia's longest serving leaders, who is accused by rights groups of using threats, arrests and court cases to undermine his political rivals.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) won about 46 percent of votes announced compared with more than 51 percent for Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in the ballot for 1,600 communes.

It was a big gain for the opposition over its showing in the last local elections, but it had hoped for 60 percent of the vote.

"It is already clear that the ruling party will remain a majority party in the National Assembly and continue to lead the government ahead," Hun Sen wrote in a Facebook posting, alongside pictures of himself playing golf.

Hun Sen has been prime minister for 32 years and politics in the Southeast Asian country has grown increasingly tense in the run-up to the elections.

The prime minister has repeatedly warned of violence if his party does not keep power, raising deep concerns in a country where some 1.8 million people died of starvation, violence, exhaustion or disease during the rule of the communist Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

Voting went smoothly on Sunday and observers recorded little malpractice or intimidation.

The opposition said it was still pleased with its results. The ruling party won control of 97 percent of Cambodia's communes in the 2012 election, when opposition parties were divided.

"To get 46 percent today means at least 56 percent in 2018," CNRP senior member Monovithya Kem told Reuters.

The opposition did much better than expected in the last general election in 2013, leaving the ruling party with only a small majority in parliament.

"The momentum has always been on the opposition side," said Ou Virak of the Future Forum think-tank.

"Given that the 2018 election is the most important election, I think the opposition will be stronger and that makes the outcome of the next election pretty unpredictable."

The National Election Committee has not finished announcing all preliminary results of Sunday's elections and official results will not be published until June 25.</s>PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s embattled opposition made significant gains in this weekend’s local elections, early results showed Monday, a vote closely watched for signs of vulnerability in one of the world’s longest serving leaders.

More than seven million Cambodians voted in Sunday’s commune elections, the first time they have headed to the polls since 2013’s disputed election result.

The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has been run by prime minister Hun Sen for 32 years, a charismatic and wily strongman who tolerates little dissent and is accused of cracking down on the opposition in the run up to the vote.

National elections will be held in 2018 and Sunday’s vote was viewed as a warm up for those crunch polls.

In recent weeks Hun Sen has delivered a series of increasingly shrill speeches warning of civil war if his reign is toppled next year.

By early Monday both the premier’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) released preliminary figures that tallied with each other.

They showed some 51 percent of the popular votes going to Hun Sen’s CPP and 46 percent to the opposition.

Both sides portrayed the results as a victory.

“This is a big success for the CNRP,” opposition party spokesman Yim Sovann told reporters.

In a Facebook post Hun Sen hailed the result as “another victory” for his party adding: “The vote in 2018 won’t be much different from the vote in this election.”

But the opposition have particular reason to be optimistic.

If the popular vote is confirmed they would hold some 500 of the country’s 1,646 communes, up from 40 won five years ago.</s>Voters in Cambodia are casting their ballots in local polls seen as a test for long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen's popularity and leadership ahead of a general election next year.

While there are 12 parties vying for votes in more than 1,600 communes, the main competition is between Hun Sen's Cambodia People's Party (CPP) and the largest opposition party, the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), led by Kem Sokha.

In the lead-up to Sunday's vote, Hun Sen, who has run Cambodia for 32 years, warned that the country will descend into "civil war" if his party loses, drawing sharp accusations that his government is undermining democracy.

Supporters see 64-year-old Hun Sen as a beacon of stability, but opponents accuse him and a coterie of allies of huge self-enrichment, corruption and autocracy.

In recent months, the opposition has been hammered by a crackdown, with critics jailed and Sam Rainsy, Hun Sen's main political rival, fleeing overseas to escape charges.

Voters queued at polling stations in the capital, Phnom Penh, before they opened at 7am (00:00 GMT). They close at 3pm (08:00 GMT) and results are expected in the hours after that.

"I voted for justice in society," said Chan Dy, 69, told the Reuters news agency.

"This election will help to make work happen at the commune level. Corruption is a big problem and that's why I voted to have things work more smoothly," he said, declining to say which party he voted for.

Hun Sen cast his ballot shortly after polls opened in Takhmao, a town on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, where he has a residence and a nearby bodyguard unit stationed.

He declined to speak to media but appeared relaxed, smiling and waving to voters as he passed.

The last time Cambodians went to the polls, in 2013's national elections, the opposition made huge gains, spurred in part by a significant appetite for change among young voters.

The opposition says it only lost that vote because of widespread fraud, something the government denies. 

 

But analysts say that result was a scare for a leader unused to losing and that the recent crackdown on the opposition is an attempt to ensure no repeat.

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from Phnom Penh, said that although these are only local elections, there is still a lot at stake.

"The CNRP feels that it can build on the good results that they had on the last general election four years ago and then carry that forward into the next general election which is coming up in July next year," he said.

 

In a possible sign of nerves Hun Sen broke with his tradition of avoiding the campaign trail to lead a massive pro-government rally for his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) on Friday in Phnom Penh.

"We haven't seen Hun Sen on the campaign trail during an election in something like 20 years, so that may well tell us something about how he is feeling about the results of these communal elections," Hay said.

"His rhetoric has been typically fiery, typically aggressive leading up to this vote," he added. "We heard the defence minister saying people would have their teeth smashed if they contest the results of this vote."

The CNRP also held a rally on Friday but it was noticeably smaller in size.

 

They have proven particularly popular among young voters who often complain about a culture of corruption that only seems to benefit a wealthy elite or those with the right connections.

 

Cambodia has one of the world's youngest population, with some 70 percent of the country under 30 and their growing political clout is being heavily courted. 

 

Yet the opposition movement has been dented by Hun Sen's crackdown, with at least 27 Cambodian human rights defenders and political activists thrown behind bars since 2013, according to a recent Amnesty International report.</s>CAMBODIA’s opposition party has won a significant portion of the vote against the authoritarian ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen, after record numbers of voters turned out for local elections on Sunday.

The opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) won 46 percent of the vote to the ruling Cambodian People Party’s (CPP) 51 percent, a massive increase from the last local council commune elections when the CPP won 97 percent of the vote against a divided opposition.

The country’s National Election Committee (NEC) announced more than 6.7 million Cambodians turned out to vote, exceeding voter turnout at the 2012 commune elections by over 1.7 people, reports Cambodia Daily.

With 85.7 percent of registered voters casting their ballots, this reflects a record election turnout for Cambodia.

SEE ALSO: Cambodian deputy PM threatens to ‘smash the teeth’ of opposition

“This is a huge success for the CNRP,” said opposition parliamentarian Yim Sovann. A senior spokesman for the CNRP Monovithya Kem said the election represented “huge gains” for the party.

The CNRP won decisively with 76 out of 109 communes in the province of Kampong Cham. The Phnom Penh Post said the election meant the party had turned “a solid support base” in the province into “an undeniable stronghold.”

Cambodia’s government has faced criticism for cracking down on political opposition, the media and rights advocates in the lead-up to these local elections and national elections next year, as the CPP tries to cling to power.

Hun Sen has been in power for three decades – making him one of the longest-serving world leaders on the planet. After Sunday’s poll, he praised the election as smooth and successful.

Government rhetoric in the lead-up to the local elections had spurred fears of intimidation, electoral fraud and violence. Authorities had banned certain rallies and arbitrarily rejected certain campaign materials.

An Amnesty International report released last week accused the government of manipulating the courts to silence dissent and political opposition.

Hun Sen warned of civil war if the CPP didn’t win and Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh threatened to “smash the teeth” of the opposition should they protest the result.

SEE ALSO: Cambodia: Asean parliamentarians call for transparent, fair and peaceful election

On Sunday, Transparency International Cambodia said it “went smoothly with little to no violence or intimidation and with most polling officials following proper procedures.” The anti-corruption watchdog had more than 1,000 observers on the ground.

Nevertheless, the Phnom Penh Post reports large groups of military personnel were seen voting at polling stations outside of their area of residence. This practice, permitted by the NEC, reportedly allows the “ruling party to strategically register soldiers to sway the vote in contested communes.”

“Sunday’s local elections are critical for grassroots democracy and the vote is being seen by many as a kind of litmus test of the political environment ahead of national elections planned for 2018,” said the Malaysian MP Charles Santiago of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights last week.

While no violence was reported on Sunday, the opposition’s success means some are predicting greater intimidation in the lead-up to next year’s poll.

Hun Sen joined a party rally of 200,000 people last Friday, ending a longstanding tradition of avoiding direct campaigning. Coupled with openly hostile rhetoric, this suggests the government is increasingly concerned about losing power.

“This is the choice between peace and security for development, and chaotic destruction,” he declared.

One netizen has already created a Wikipedia page for the national election, set to be held on 22 July 2018.</s>Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made a rare appearance at his party's election campaign rally on Friday, calling on people to vote for his ruling Cambodian People's Party for bringing peace and development to the nation. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made a rare appearance at his ruling Cambodian People's Party rally ahead of a commune election on June 4. PHNOM PENH: The Hun Sen Boulevard in Phnom Penh was flooded with a sea of people on Friday as tens of thousands of Cambodians gathered from dawn to welcome a special guest.

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Voters cast ballots to select representatives for rural and urban Cambodian precincts from, nationwide, 94,595 candidates for 11,572 council seats. Voter turnout was 85.74 percent with few reports of irregularities. According to early results, the opposition makes significant gains against the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen.