Cambodia’s ruling party wins overwhelming majority in parliamentary polls

Phnom Penh, July 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 120 parliamentary seats as the royalist Funcinpec Party gained the remaining five seats in the July 23 general elections, officials said on Tuesday.

A total of 18 political parties contested the election, which is held once every five years to elect the MPs for the 125-seat National Assembly, reports Xinhua news agency.

CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said that according to the party's calculation based on the National Election Committee (NEC)'s preliminary results, the CPP won 120 seats and the Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Chakravuth gained the remaining five seats.

"The CPP received 80 per cent of the ballots from 8.21 million voters, winning 120 seats, or 96 per cent of the 125 seats in the National Assembly," he told Xinhua news agency.

"This is another great success for the CPP, and it truly reflected people's confidence in the party's leadership," Eysan said. "We will do our best to continue to serve the people."

Hun Manet, the Prime Minister candidate for the CPP, said people had clearly expressed their wills through votes with a very high turnout rate of more than 84 percent.

"An overwhelming number has expressed support for the Cambodian People's Party," he said in a message released on his official Telegram channel.

Manet, who is also the son of sitting Prime Minister Hun Sen, thanked voters for supporting the CPP, vowing to better serve them in the future.

Funcinpec Party spokesman Nhoeun Raden told Xinhua on Tuesday that the NEC's preliminary results showed that it gained five seats, or 4 percent in the National Assembly.

He said the party won one seat each in the capital Phnom Penh and the provinces of Kandal, Prey Veng, Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham.

According to the NEC, about 8.21 million people, or 84.58 per cent of the 9.71 million eligible voters, cast their ballots in the general elections.

The parliamentary polls was the seventh of its kind in the Southeast Asian country since 1993.

In the previous one held in 2018, the CPP won all 125 seats in the National Assembly.

The CPP has ruled Cambodia since 1979, with Prime Minister Hun Sen ruling the Southeast Asian nation since 1985.

Hun Sen has said that the National Assembly will convene for the first time on August 28, and the new five-year-term government will be sworn in on the next day.

Source: IANS