Cambodia's election body says PM's party wins in election

PHNOM PENH - The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen won a landslide victory in Sunday's general election, said the National Election Committee (NEC)'s preliminary results released on Wednesday.

A total of 18 political parties contested the election, which was held once every five years to elect the members of parliament for the 125-seat National Assembly.

The results indicated that the CPP received almost 6.4 million votes, or 82.3 percent of the total valid votes of 7.77 million, and the Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Chakravuth gained 716,443 votes, or 9.22 percent of the total valid votes.

CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said according to the CPP's calculation based on the NEC's preliminary results, the CPP won 120 seats, and the Funcinpec Party gained the remaining five seats.

"This is another great success for the CPP, and it truly reflected people's confidence in the party's leadership," he told Xinhua. "We will do our best to continue to serve the people."

In a special voice message on Wednesday, the prime minister said his eldest son Hun Manet has "the highest possibility" of becoming the new prime minister, replacing him in the new-term government.

Hun Sen, 70, who has been the prime minister of Cambodia for 38 years, did not disclose the exact time when he will pass the reins of power to his son.

Hun Manet, 45, is currently a member of the CPP's Standing Committee and a deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

Sunday's general election was the seventh of its kind in the Southeast Asian country since 1993. In the previous one held in 2018, the CPP won all 125 seats in the National Assembly.

The CPP has ruled Cambodia since 1979.