Phnom Penh [Cambodia], July 23 : Voting has ended in Cambodia’s national election and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is expected to secure an easy victory in what critics have described as the country’s least free and fair election in decades, reported Al Jazeera.
Approximately 9.7 million of the country's 16 million citizens who were registered to vote began casting their ballots at 7 a.m. Sunday (00:00 GMT).
According to Al Jazeera, 17 smaller parties, in addition to the incumbent and long-reigning CPP, are standing in the election, but none of them has the backing of the general public to seriously challenge Hun Sen's decades of rule.
As the longest-serving elected leader in Asia, Hun Sen has consolidated power in Cambodia over the past 38 years. This election victory is expected to see him now pave the way for a transfer of power to his son, Hun Manet, who is head of the Cambodian army, it reported.
His party is expected to keep all 125 seats in the country’s national assembly.
Due to a registration inconsistency in May, the only genuine opposition competitor, the Candlelight Party, was barred from voting.
Critics lambasted this as another instance of Hun Sen's flattening of political participation in the nation.
On Sunday morning in Takhmau, south of the city, where one of the prime minister's mansions is located, Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany, cast their votes immediately after polls opened, according to Al Jazeera.
Hun Sen, who hasconsolidated power in Cambodia over the past 38 years, is the longest-serving elected leader in Asia, has solidified his position. With this election win, he will likely be able to hand over control to Hun Manet, the commander of the Cambodian army.
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