Cambodians vote in elections without main opposition party
Phnom Penh, July 29 : Voting began on Sunday morning in the Cambodian general elections, in which the country's incumbent Prime Minister, Hun Sen, is running without the challenge of a main opposition.
The Prime Minister from the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) voted early morning in Takhmau in the Kandal province, 15 km from here.
He is essentially running unopposed after the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was banned in 2017 by the Supreme Court on charges of conspiring with foreigners to overthrow the government. Many of its top members were forced into exile.
The CNRP has called for a boycott of these elections.
Nineteen other candidates, mostly from small, recently formed parties, are contesting against Hun Sen, who has ruled the southeast Asian nation since 1985.
A total of 8.3 million Cambodians will cast their votes for the 125 parliamentary seats, until 3 p.m. International observers have been heavily critical of the elections, dismissing them as fraudulent and rigged by the CPP.
"This election is in reality the funeral ceremony for Cambodian democracy," Asia Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch Phil Robertson tweeted.
The UN has also questioned the legitimacy of the elections, along with the US and the European Union, which withdrew aid to the National Election Committee of Cambodia and threatened to impose sanctions.
The Cambodian government has denied that there was any wrongdoing or unfairness, pointing to the number of candidates contesting the elections as well as the international observers sent to monitor.
The election is be the sixth since the first democratic vote organised by the UN in 1993, following peace agreements that had ended more than two decades of civil war between several Cambodian factions.
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Sudan’s civil war worsens: Forced mass displacement, widespread starvation, rampant sexual violence
Khartoum: Sudan’s ongoing civil war has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, characterised by widespread hunger, forced displacement, and staggering levels of sexual violence. It has resulted in the world’s largest displacement crisis this year, as reported by the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) this week.
The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced millions from their homes. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, as cited by Al Jazeera, said that paramilitaries are targeting the female population. Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, stressed that there is currently no safe place for women and girls in Sudan due to the rising incidents of abduction for sexual slavery.
Meanwhile, over 14 million people have been displaced in Sudan and more than half of those displaced are women, with over a quarter being children under five years old. In some areas, children are reportedly dying from starvation, and the recent rainy season has worsened the crisis by causing flooding and additional displacement.
Furthermore, the UN food agencies have warned of deadly hunger levels in 16 "hunger hotspots," with particular concern for the Palestinian territories, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, and Haiti. In South Sudan the number of people facing starvation and death are projected to have nearly doubled from April and July 2024 compared to the same period last year.
IOM Director-General Amy Pope emphasised that this is easily the “most neglected crisis in the world” today and requires greater attention. She stated that millions are suffering, and there is a serious risk of the conflict igniting regional instability from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.
“Hunger, disease and sexual violence are rampant. For the people of Sudan, this is a living nightmare,” she asserted.
