Feature: Cambodian voters wish for continued peace, stability, further development after general election-Xinhua

Feature: Cambodian voters wish for continued peace, stability, further development after general election

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2023-07-23 15:04:15

KANDAL, Cambodia, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Voters queued in long lines at polling stations on Sunday to wait for their turns to cast ballots in the seventh general election in Cambodia, which is expected that the ruling party of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen will continue to win a sweeping victory.

They said the election was a great opportunity to elect political parties they like to lead the country for a five-year term from 2023 to 2028.

"We want a party that can continue to maintain peace and political stability and bring more development to Cambodia," Svay Sareth, a retired teacher, told Xinhua after casting his ballot.

Walking with a cane, the 72-year-old man, who had voted in every election since 1993, said he was satisfied with the current government led by the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Hun Sen.

"Under the CPP's leadership, Cambodia has enjoyed rapid development in almost all areas, especially in economy, trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture, industries, tourism, education and health," Sareth said.

Eighteen political parties, including the CPP and the Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Chakravuth, are contesting in the polls, which are held to elect the members of parliament for the 125-seat National Assembly.

More than 9.7 million people are eligible to vote in the election, according to the National Election Committee.

Path Pisethdara, a 41-year-old trader, hoped all political parties would accept the results to ensure the country's peace, political stability, public order and further development in the post-election era.

"I had already voted this moment. It was a free and fair election with no any threat or intimidation," she told Xinhua. "I hope all political parties will respect voters' wills."

The preliminary results are expected to be announced on Sunday evening and Monday morning, as the official ones will be released on Aug. 9.

Political analysts predict that the CPP, which has ruled the Southeast Asian nation since 1979, would win a landslide victory in the polls.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said the CPP will be unbeatable, given that the party has strong leadership and human and financial resources.

"Under the CPP-led government, Cambodia's economy had grown at an average annual rate of 7.7 percent between 1998 and 2019, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world," he told Xinhua.

He added that the kingdom's poverty rate had declined to 16.6 percent in 2022 from nearly 40 percent in 2009. "I strongly believe that the CPP will emerge again victorious undoubtedly."

Thong Mengdavid, a research fellow at Phnom Penh-based independent think tank Asian Vision Institute (AVI), said the CPP will continue to be a powerful political party in Cambodia.

"Hun Sen's prudent, practical, and visionary leadership has allowed the CPP to establish a strong basis for generational leadership, and the party is now home to a number of competent, intelligent, and far-sighted young leaders," he told Xinhua.

Hun Sen, 70, has been the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985.

Mengdavid said under Hun Sen's leadership, the CPP delivered complete peace and national reconciliation to Cambodia in 1998.

In the last general election held in 2018, the CPP won all 125 seats in the National Assembly.

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