Spokesperson of Justice Ministry: 5th Commune/Sangkat Council Election on Democratic Way

Generally, the 5th Mandate Commune/Sangkat Council Election held today is in a multiparty liberal democratic way, H.E. Chin Malin, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice, told AKP this afternoon. 

“Many political parties have partaken in the election and their respective political activists have conducted their activities freely in accordance with the laws and election-related procedures,” he underlined.
 
H.E. Chin Malin reiterated that those who have faced legal actions are not because they are political activists or opposition activists, but because they have violated the laws and the electoral regulations. 

Under the law enforcement mechanism, the spokesperson explained, when there are any acts violating the law, they have to face legal actions without any excuse even now we are on the election process. 

A total of 17 political parties – Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), Candlelight Party (CP), FUNCINPEC Party, Khmer National United Party (KNUP), Cambodia National Love Party (CNLP), Cambodian Nationality Party (CNP), Cambodian Youth Party (CYP), Cambodia Reform Party (CRP), Khmer Will Party (KWP), Kampucheaniyum Party (KP), Grassroots Democratic Party (GDP), Ekpheap Cheat Khmer Party (ECKP), Beehive Social Democratic Party (BSDP), Cambodia Indigenous People’s Democracy Party (CIPDP), Khmer National United Party (KNUP), Reaksmey Khemara Party, and Khmer Economic Development Party (KEDP) – competed for the 1,652 communes/Sangkat throughout Cambodia. 

More than 9.2 million people have been registered for the Commune/Sangkat Council Election held under the observation of some 75,000 local and international observers.

Besides, there were 775 local journalists and 39 foreign journalists registered to cover this local election, according to the National Election Committee (NEC).

The previous Commune/Sangkat Council Election was held on June 4, 2017 in 22,148 polling stations across the country with the participation of 12 political parties. Some 7.04 million or 89.52 percent of the total eligible voters of 7,865,033 turned out to the polls. In that election, CPP won a landslide victory by obtaining 1,156 communes/Sangkat, while the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) got 489 communes/Sangkat, and Khmer National United Party (KNUP), a commune.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press