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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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
