Saturday, 9 August 2008

Cambodia's ruling party win confirmed

Agence France-Presse
Phnom Penh, August 09, 2008

Cambodia's ruling party took nearly 60 percent of the popular vote in last month's election, according to figures released by the election committee on Saturday.

The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 58.1 percent of the vote, compared with 21.9 percent for its nearest rival, the main opposition Sam Rainsy party, authorities said.

National Election Committee official Sin Chum Bo said turnout was 75.21 percent -- or six million of the 8.1 million eligible voters.

But she declined to say how many parliamentary seats each party had won ahead of a further announcement next month in which full official results will be revealed.

"This is just a temporary election result... while we allow for political parties to make complaints before we can divide the number of seats," she told reporters.

The CPP earlier claimed it had captured at least 90 of the 123 seats in parliament, with opposition leader Sam Rainsy and three other small parties dividing the rest.

The Sam Rainsy party on Saturday rejected the outcome, saying the election had not been conducted freely and fairly, and demanding a re-run.

International monitors agreed the election was flawed, despite improvements in the electoral process compared to past polls in Phnom Penh.

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