Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen meets with his supporters after casting his ballot in the Senate election in Kandai province on February 25 (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodiaon May 4 launched a campaign to call on voters to go to the polls for thegeneral election which is scheduled to take place on July 29.
The NEC held question-and-answer sessions with about 800 students in thesouthwestern province of Takeo, following a lecture about the vote.
The campaign will also feature television programmes to increaseawareness about voting rights and the identity documents voters need to take topolling stations.
The NEC began registering political parties for the upcoming election onApril 30 and the registration will end on May 14.
To date, three political parties, namely the ruling Cambodian People'sParty (CPP), the Cambodian Nationality Party, and the Cambodian Youth Party,had already registered to contest in the election, the NEC said, adding that 16other political parties had contacted the NEC for application forms.
The CPP of Prime Minister Hun Sen is forecast to continue winning theupcoming general election as the main opposition Cambodian National RescueParty (CNRP) was dissolved in November 2017 by the Supreme Court after itsleader Kem Sokha, Sam Rainsy's successor, was arrested on September 3 last yearand charged with "treason" for conspiring with a foreign power in anattempt to overthrow the government.
In addition, 118 senior members of the CNRP have been prohibited from takingpart in political activities for five years.
Sam Rainsy has been living in self-imposed exile in France since 2015 toavoid at least eight-year-prison sentence for defamation and incitement cases.
The NEC warned that anyone preventing voters from casting their ballotswould be fined and face criminal charges.
In the last election on July 28, 2013, eight political parties joinedthe contest. As a result, the CPP won 68 parliamentary seats against 55 seatsfor the CNRP in the 123-seat parliament. In the July 29 election, Cambodianvoters will elect 125 parliamentarians.-VNA
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