Elections in Cambodia
 |
| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Cambodia |
|
Monarchy |
|
| Foreign relations |
Cambodia is a one party dominant state with the Cambodian People's Party in power. Cambodia's legislature is chosen through a national election. The general election is held every five years in the fourth Sunday of July. The Parliament of Cambodia has two chambers. The National Assembly of Cambodia (Khmer: រដ្ឋសភា, Rotsaphea) has 123 members, each elected for a five-year term by proportional representation. The Senate (Khmer: ព្រឹទ្ធសភា, Protsaphea) has 61 members, appointed by the king on recommendation of the parties in the National Assembly.
Since the signing of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords ending decades of civil war and foreign occupation, and with the final elimination in 1998 of armed insurgency groups inside the country, four national elections have taken place in Cambodia in 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008. The first national elections were administered by United Nations Transitional Authority for Cambodia (UNTAC) in July 1993, the first commune-level election was held in February 2002 and the Cambodian Senate was elected for the first time by the elected commune council officials in January 2006.
Three main political parties have dominated Cambodian politics over the last decade: the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) and, more recently, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Although the CPP dominated the elections held on July 27, 2003, it did not win the two-thirds majority required under the constitution to form a government on its own. A new government was formed on July 15, 2004 after protracted negotiations between the CPP and FUNCINPEC on forming a coalition government.[1] In early 2006, the CPP further consolidated its hold on power by passing an amendment to the constitution through Parliament that will allow for a 50% plus one majority in the National Assembly to form a government (instead of the two-thirds majority), thereby reducing its future reliance on FUNCINPEC or another coalition partner.
Latest elections
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodian People's Party | 3,235,969 | 48.83% | 68 | ||
| Cambodia National Rescue Party | 2,946,176 | 44.46% | 55 | ||
| FUNCINPEC | 242,413 | 3.66% | — | ||
| League for Democracy Party | 68,389 | 1.03% | — | ||
| Khmer Anti-Poverty Party | 43,222 | 0.65% | — | ||
| Cambodian Nationality Party | 38,123 | 0.58% | — | ||
| Khmer Economic Development Party | 33,715 | 0.51% | — | ||
| Democratic Republican Party | 19,152 | 0.29% | — | ||
| Total (turnout 68.5%) | 6,627,159 | 123 | |||
| Source: National Election Committee | |||||
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodian People's Party | 8,880 | 77.81% | 46 | ||
| Sam Rainsy Party | 2,503 | 22.19% | 11 | ||
| Total (turnout) | 11,383 | 57 | |||
| Source: MYsinchew.com, RFA | |||||
Sources:
List of Senators
Ruling party wins Cambodia poll
Past elections
2008 General Election
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodian People's Party | 3,492,374 | 58.1% | 90 | ||
| Sam Rainsy Party | 1,316,714 | 21.9% | 26 | ||
| Human Rights Party | 397,816 | 6.62% | 3 | ||
| Norodom Ranariddh Party | 337,943 | 5.62% | 2 | ||
| FUNCINPEC | 303,764 | 5.05% | 2 | ||
| League for Democracy | 68,909 | 1.15% | — | ||
| Khmer Democratic Party | 32,386 | 0.54% | — | ||
| Democratic Movement Party | 25,065 | 0.42% | — | ||
| Society of Justice Party | 14,112 | 0.23% | — | ||
| Khmer Republican Party | 11,693 | 0.19% | — | ||
| Khmer Anti-Poverty Party | 9,501 | 0.16% | — | ||
| Total (turnout 74.0%) | 6,010,277 | 123 | |||
| Source: www.necelect.org.kh | |||||
2003 General Election
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodian People's Party | 2,447,259 | 47.3% | 73 | ||
| Sam Rainsy Party | 1,130,423 | 21.9% | 24 | ||
| FUNCINPEC | 1,072,313 | 20.8% | 26 | ||
| Khmer Democratic Party | 95,927 | 1.9% | — | ||
| The Rice Party | 76,086 | 1.5% | — | ||
| Indra Buddra Party | 62,338 | 1.2% | — | ||
| Proloung Khmer Party | 56,010 | 1.1% | — | ||
| Total (turnout 81.5%) | 5,168,837 | 123 | |||
| Sources:www.necelect.org.kh | |||||
1998 General Election
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodian People's Party | 2,030,790 | 41.4 | 64 |  13 | |
| FUNCINPEC | 1,554,405 | 31.7 | 43 |  15 | |
| Sam Rainsy Party | 699,655 | 14.3 | 15 | 15 | |
| Democratic Party | 90,000 | 1.80 | 0 | - | |
| Cambodian National Sustaining Party | 71,093 | 1.40 | 0 | - | |
| Liberal Democratic Party | 46,424 | 0.9 | 0 | - | |
| Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party | 45,849 | 0.9 | 0 | 10 | |
| Other parties | 364,264 | 7.50 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 5,057,679 | 122 | +2 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 93.7% | – | – | ||
| Source: National Election Committee | |||||
1993 General Election
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUNCINPEC | 1,824,188 | 45.5 | 58 | 58 | |
| Cambodian People's Party | 1,533,471 | 38.2 | 51 | 51 | |
| Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party | 152,764 | 3.80 | 10 | 10 | |
| MOULINAKA | 55,107 | 1.40 | 1 | 1 | |
| Other parties | 446,101 | 11.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 4,267,192 | 120 | 0 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 89.6% | – | – | ||
| Source: National Election Committee | |||||
See also
References
- ↑ Country Assessment Strategy (CAS) for the Kingdom of Cambodia, World Bank, April 18, 2005.
External links
- National Election Committee (NEC)
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) - Development policy research institute
- Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) - NGO
- Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (COFFEL) - NGO
