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General elections were held in
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
on 27 July 2008.Cambodian PM sets election date on July 27 next year
Xinhua, 30 May 2007
The result was a victory for the ruling
Cambodian People's Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ...
, which won 90 of the 123 seats.


Background

Prime Minister
Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...
announced the planned date of the elections on 30 May 2007, saying that the date of 27 July 2008 had been decided on because it was a holiday and because it fell exactly five years after the previous elections. While the ruling
Cambodian People's Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ...
was expected to retain its majority,
FUNCINPEC The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...
was considered likely to fall behind the two major opposition parties, the
Sam Rainsy Party The Candlelight Party ( km, គណបក្សភ្លើងទៀន) is a liberal party in Cambodia. The party was a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, Liberal International, and the Alliance of Democrats. It is the largest ...
and the Sangkum Jatiniyum Front Party. The newly founded Human Rights Party was also expected to make an impact.


Campaign

By the deadline of 12 May 2008, only twelve parties had registered for the elections, only half of the 23 parties which contested the 2003 elections and a third of the 39 in the 1998 elections. Ten of those parties fielded candidates in all of Cambodia's 24 provinces and municipalities, while the remaining two fielded candidates in only nine and seven provinces, respectively. Ten parties were approved, one was asked to submit more documents and subsequently approved and one was denied registration. In early July, the
Khmer Anti-Poverty Party The Khmer Anti-Poverty Party ( km, គណបក្សខ្មែរឈប់ក្រ) is a Cambodian political party founded in September 2007. Its leader is Cambodian-American Daran Kravanh.Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio. "Party profiles: ...
and the Society of Justice Party decided to form a political alliance, and the
Khmer Republican Party The Khmer Republican Party (KRP) is political party created on 11 March 2006. It participated in the 27 July 2008 elections under the leadership of Lon Rith (son of Khmer Republic’s leader Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់ ...
also stated it was willing to make alliances.


Conduct

The EU observing mission stated that based on the provisional results, the lead of the CPP was so large that there would have to be very large-scale fraud in order to call the CPP's victory into question. They still criticised the disenfranchisement of a large number of voters, but lauded the improvement over the 2003 elections; on the whole, however, the election fell short of international standards.


Results

Preliminary results from CPP sources indicated that the CPP had won 58.3% of the vote and 91 seats, whilst the SRP had won 21.9% of the vote and 26 seats, with the Human Rights Party on three seats, the NRP on two and FUNCINPEC with one. NGOs and other supervising bodies stated that the distribution was more likely 70 for CPP and 50 for SRP.


Aftermath

Prime Minister
Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...
claimed victory the day after the elections, The stand-off with Thailand over the
Preah Vihear Temple Preah Vihear Temple ( Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ ''Prasat Preah Vihear'') is an ancient Khmer temple built during the period of the Khmer Empire, that is situated on the top of a cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, i ...
was widely seen as a successful attempt of the ruling CPP to garner more support. Analysts expected the CPP to increase its majority; as the constitution was amended to remove the need for a
two-thirds majority 2/3 may refer to: * A fraction with decimal value 0.6666... * A way to write the expression "2 ÷ 3" ("two divided by three") * 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines of the United States Marine Corps * February 3 * March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – ...
to govern, requiring the more common simple majority instead, it was considered likely that the CPP would be able to govern without a coalition partner. The CPP announced it would retain its coalition with the severely diminished FUNCINPEC, but ordered its leaders
Keo Puth Rasmey Keo Puth Rasmey ( km, កែវ ពុទ្ធរស្មី, born 1 October 1952) is a Cambodian politician. On 19 October 2006 he was appointed to lead Funcinpec, the royalist party of Cambodia, replacing former leader Norodom Ranariddh. He ...
and his wife Princess Arun Rasmey to stand down and let army general
Nhek Bun Chhay Nhek Bun Chhay ( km, ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ; born 1956) is a Cambodian politician and leader of the Khmer National United Party. Prior to his career in the military, he began as a rebel and supported the royalist forces of Funcinpec until ...
take over; he would be the first non-royal to lead FUNCINPEC. The SRP, HRP and NRP threatened to boycott the first parliamentary session unless the irregularities were investigated; the PM replied that in that case, the opposition's seats would be redistributed between CPP and FUNCINPEC.Cambodian opposition warned not to boycott NA
Xinhua


References

{{Cambodian elections Elections in Cambodia
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
Parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are no ...