?Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen puts his ballot into a ballot box during the Senate election in Kandal province, Cambodia on Feb. 25, 2018. The election for the four mandate of the Cambodian Senate, or the upper house, kicked off on Sunday, a spokesman said. (Xinhua/Sovannara)
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The election for the four mandate of the Cambodian Senate, or the upper house, kicked off on Sunday with four political parties taking part in the race, a spokesman said.
"All polling stations were opened at 7:00 a.m. (local time) and will be closed at 3:00 p.m.," Hang Puthea, a spokesman for the National Election Committee (NEC), told Xinhua.
The four contesting parties are the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the Cambodian Youth Party, and the Khmer National United Party.
Hun Sen casted his ballot at a polling station in southern Kandal province, as Ranariddh voted in southeastern Kampong Cham province.
The Senate election, held every six years, is a non-general election because ordinary citizens do not take part in the electoral process.
According to Puthea, all 123 members of parliament and 11,572 commune councilors will vote at 33 polling stations across the country.
He said the Senate has 62 seats, but the vote will be held for 58 seats only, as two senators will be appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni and two others by the National Assembly, or the lower house.
Puthea said a preliminary result will be announced on Sunday afternoon, as the official one will be on March 3 if there is no complaint filed by any political parties against the result.
Chheang Vannarith, vice-chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies, said the ruling CPP was likely to sweep the election following the dissolution of the main opposition party.
"The CPP will likely grab all the seats because there is no main contesting party," he told Xinhua.
The Supreme Court ordered on Nov. 16 last year the dissolution of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) after its leader Kem Sokha was arrested on Sept. 3 and charged with treason for allegedly conspiring with a foreign power in an attempt to overthrow the government.
Following the dissolution, 55 CNRP members of parliament and 5,007 commune councilors were ousted from their seats, and the seats were reallocated by the NEC to other political parties.
The CPP and the Funcinpec Party received most of the seats.
The CPP currently holds 79 parliamentary seats, or 64 percent of the 123-seat National Assembly and 11,051 commune seats, or 95 percent of the 11,572 commune seats, while Funcinpec Party possesses 41 parliamentary seats and 239 commune seats.
