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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Those rejected by people trying to control Parliament: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed the opposition, saying those who were rejected by people 80-90 times were trying to control Parliament by resorting to hooliganism for their own political gains.
Addressing reporters ahead of the start of the Winter Session of Parliament, Modi said such handful of people did not succeed in their intentions but people of the country observed their actions and punished them at an appropriate time.
Modi's remarks came days after the BJP-led coalition won the Maharashtra Assembly elections by a landslide, bagging 235 seats and relegating the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi to a distant 49 seats in the 288-member House.
Earlier, the BJP registered a surprise third consecutive victory in the Haryana polls, trouncing the Congress, which was billed as a pre-poll favourite.
"There should be a healthy debate in the Parliament but, unfortunately, certain individuals are trying to control Parliament for their own political gains, resorting to disruptions and chaos," Modi said.
"Though their tactics ultimately fail, the people watch their behaviour closely and deliver justice when the time comes," he added.
Modi said he had been repeatedly urging opposition colleagues, and some also agreed that Parliament should function smoothly.
"But those who have been continuously rejected by the public ignore the words of their colleagues and disrespect their sentiments and that of democracy," the prime minister said.
The Winter Session of Parliament began on Monday and is scheduled to continue till December 20.
