Ruling party wins all 125 seats

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen extends 33-year rule

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen won Sunday’s general election, according to the National Election Committee (NEC)’s preliminary results released on Monday.

Broadcast live on the stateowned National Television of Cambodia (TVK), the results indicated that the CPP earned 4.86 million, or 77.5 percent, of the total valid votes.

According to the calculation table by the CPP based on the NEC’s preliminary results, the CPP won all the 125 seats in the National Assembly.

“We can say that this is a bright and historic success for the CPP,” CPP spokesman Sok Eysan told Xinhua.

“This clearly reflects the confidence of the Cambodian people in the leadership of the CPP, and they believe that only the CPP can lead Cambodia to a prosperous country.”

In the last election in 2013, the ruling CPP won 68 out of 123 seats. With the victory, Hun Sen, who has been in power for 33 years, will continue to lead the government for another five years.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the prime minister expressed his gratitude to compatriots for overwhelmingly turning out to vote.

“The siblings have really chosen the path of democracy and exercised your rights as stated in the constitution, which is the country’s highest law,” he said.

“I thank all the people for voting to elect the lawmakers and ticking political parties that you like on the ballot-papers.”

Seng Sokheng, president of the Cambodian Nationality Party, which also joined the race, said on Monday that Sunday’s election went smoothly without any disturbance, violence or intimidation. He said in a statement that the election was “free, fair, just, transparent, acceptable and better than that of previous elections.”

Twenty political parties contested Sunday’s election.

According to the NEC, some 6.88 million, or 82.17 percent, of the 8.38 million eligible voters cast their ballots at 22,967 polling stations across the country.

NEC chairman Sik Bun Hok said Sunday the turnout was much higher than 2013’s 69.61 percent of eligible voters.