DPA
Phnom Penh - Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians went to the polls Sunday to vote in the nation's second-ever commune elections, the equivalent of local government or council elections.
Early reports indicated high voter turnout, especially in the capital Phnom Penh, and there were no initial reports of violence or intimidation.
Cambodians can vote for 12 parties in the 1,621 communes nationwide, although the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the royalist Funcinpec Party and the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) are expected to take the lion's share of the votes.
Democratic elections for the positions were initiated in 2002 in an attempt to decentralize government. The local governance bodies had formerly been appointed by the government and had remained largely unchanged for more than 20 years.
Voters were officially granted up to three days off to return to their sometimes remote communes to cast their ballots, and the streets of the capital were almost deserted Sunday morning.
The dominant CPP has predicted it will win up to 97 percent of the vote.
However the SRP is expected to poll well in certain areas, most noteably Phnom Penh. It also traditionally polls well in certain areas where anti-Vietnamese sentiment runs high such as the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin due to its perceived platform of negative sentiment towards Cambodia's powerful neighbour.
The commune elections have been seen as a dry run for next year's general elections, scheduled for January. Election results are expected to be finalized within three weeks.
Early reports indicated high voter turnout, especially in the capital Phnom Penh, and there were no initial reports of violence or intimidation.
Cambodians can vote for 12 parties in the 1,621 communes nationwide, although the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the royalist Funcinpec Party and the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) are expected to take the lion's share of the votes.
Democratic elections for the positions were initiated in 2002 in an attempt to decentralize government. The local governance bodies had formerly been appointed by the government and had remained largely unchanged for more than 20 years.
Voters were officially granted up to three days off to return to their sometimes remote communes to cast their ballots, and the streets of the capital were almost deserted Sunday morning.
The dominant CPP has predicted it will win up to 97 percent of the vote.
However the SRP is expected to poll well in certain areas, most noteably Phnom Penh. It also traditionally polls well in certain areas where anti-Vietnamese sentiment runs high such as the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin due to its perceived platform of negative sentiment towards Cambodia's powerful neighbour.
The commune elections have been seen as a dry run for next year's general elections, scheduled for January. Election results are expected to be finalized within three weeks.
1 comment:
There are many landcruisers, 4 runners, other SUV to transport voting ballots so to get quicker result.
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