2013 Cambodian general election

none June 2024 Cambodia 28 July 2013 2008 2018 All 123 seats in the National Assembly 62 69.61% ( 5.47pp) Cambodian People's Party Chea SimHun Sen was the CPP's official prime ministerial candidate and leading figure throughout the campaign. 48.83 68 90 Cambodian National Rescue Party Sam Rainsy 44.46 55 29 500px Results by province Prime Minister Hun Sen Cambodian People's Party Prime Minister after Hun Sen Cambodian People's Party General elections were held in Cambodia on 28 July 2013.Country Profile https://web.archive.org/web/20111215093731/http://electionguide.org/country-events.php?ID=37 15 December 2011 IFES The National Election Committee (NEC) announced that some 9.67 million Cambodians were eligible to cast their ballots to elect the 123-seat National Assembly.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/04/c_132079567.htm 9.67 million Cambodians eligible to vote in July general election 2013-01-04 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20130107030214/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/04/c_132079567.htm 2013-01-07 news.xinhuanet.com Voter turnout was reported to be 69.6%, a record low for a general election.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/voter-turnout-keeps-falling Voter turnout keeps falling The Phnom Penh Post 30 July 2013 12 July 2016 Polling precincts opened 7:00 a.m. and closed at 3:00 p.m. The Cambodian Minister of Information, Khieu Kanharith announced in preliminary results that the Cambodian People's Party won 68 seats and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party won all the remaining 55 seats. This election marked the largest seat loss by the Cambodian People's Party to date, and their lowest share of seats since 1998. Background The previous general elections in 2008 were won by the Cambodian People's Party, which managed to secure an absolute majority of the seats: 90 out of 123. Despite winning a parliamentary majority, the CPP chose to form a coalition with the royalist FUNCINPEC, which won 2 seats. The opposition Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party won a combined total of 29 seats. In 2012, the two parties merged to form the Cambodian National Rescue Party. However, party leader Sam Rainsy was barred from running as a candidate because he was not registered to vote.Cambodia’s Election Panel Rejects Sam Rainsy Request to Contest Polls https://web.archive.org/web/20251025025626/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/rejection-07222013182201.html 25 October 2025 Radio Free Asia, 22 July 2013 The voter roll was finalised on 31 December 2012, at which time Rainsy was living abroad after being controversially convicted in 2010 of making changes to a map to suggest the country was losing land to neighbouring Vietnam.Opposition leader Sam Rainsy returns to Cambodia BBC News, 19 July 2013 Rainsy returned to Cambodia in July 2013 after he received a royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni, but Rainsy failed to have his name reinstated on the voter roll and was not eligible for candidacy in the election. Debates Cambodia had its first televised debate on 20 and 21 July. The US-funded National Democratic Institute also sponsored nine town hall-style debates with provincial candidates from almost all parties.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013070566691/National/sokha-given-chance-to-debate-cpp-on-tv.html Sokha given chance to debate CPP on TV July 5, 2013 phnompenhpost.com dead https://archive.today/20130705145046/http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013070566691/National/sokha-given-chance-to-debate-cpp-on-tv.html July 5, 2013 Conduct Voting eligibility issues thumb|250px|National Assembly president Heng Samrin at a polling station in Kampong Cham province. Since Cambodia had had no official population count for the last five years, the country's population figure is merely guesswork, which has led to incorrect projections of possible voters – making it difficult for the National Election Commission to ascertain the number of actual voters that should be listed in Cambodia's voting rolls. The lack of actual population count could have led to fraudulent voting, such as voters voting in multiple precincts using different names. According to the opposition CNRP, between 1.2 and 1.3 million names were omitted from voting rolls. thumb|250px|Princess Norodom Arunrasmy poses for a photo after casting her vote. Migrant Vietnamese have also allegedly been able to register as voters due to lax identification policies in Cambodia. The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party played up this anti-Vietnamese rhetoric in campaigning leading up to the election.https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/world/asia/hun-sens-party-holds-on-to-win-cambodian-vote.html?ref=asia&pagewanted=all Ruling Party Wins Narrowly in Cambodian Vote Fuller Thomas 28 July 2013 The New York Times 31 July 2013 12 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190212223920/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/world/asia/hun-sens-party-holds-on-to-win-cambodian-vote.html?ref=asia&pagewanted=all live Indelible ink One of the controversies that beset the Cambodian election before it even began was the use of an ostensibly indelible ink that was used to mark which voters had already voted.https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodia-poll-monitors-report-problem-with-indelible-ink/1711199.html Cambodia Poll Monitors Report Problem With Indelible Ink Carmichael Robert 27 July 2013 Voice of America 31 July 2013 26 March 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230326221328/https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodia-poll-monitors-report-problem-with-indelible-ink/1711199.html live The ink had previously been donated by the Indian Embassy in Cambodia. Documentation by poll monitors before the election demonstrated the ink could simply be washed off using bleach or lime juice in minutes upon drying. The ink used could have perhaps allowed voters to vote more than once. Results The ruling CPP party received 48.83% of the votes, earned 68 seats, while the CNRP party won 55 seats with 44.46% of the vote. By losing 22 seats from the previous election, the CPP earned the fewest percentage of seats that it has had in the National Assembly since 1998. Other parties, including the Funcinpec Party and League for Democracy Party combined for 0 seats on 6.3% of the vote.COMFRELJuly 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes File:Cambodian Assembly 2013-2017.svg Cambodian People's Party 3235969 68 –22 Cambodia National Rescue Party 2946176 55 +26 FUNCINPEC 242413 0 –2 League for Democracy Party 68389 0 0 Khmer Anti-Poverty Party 43222 0 0 Cambodian Nationality Party 38123 0 New #0101DF Republican Democracy Party 33715 0 New orange Khmer Economic Development Party 19152 0 New green 108085 0 9675453 National Election Committee Reactions The CPP claimed victory in the election. The European Union and United States expressed concern about possible irregularities, with the latter's State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki saying that "we call for a transparent and full investigation of all credible reports of irregularities. We urge all parties and their supporters to continue to act in an orderly and peaceful manner in the post-election period." Vietnam congratulated Cambodia on the success of its 5th General Elections.http://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/tt_baochi/pbnfn/ns130803160846 https://web.archive.org/web/20131104025240/http://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/tt_baochi/pbnfn/ns130803160846 4 November 2013 Remarks by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi on Cambodia’s general election French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott sent their letter of endorsement, congratulating Hun Sen on his election win.http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/france-australia-congratulate-hun-sen-on-win-45001/ France, Australia Congratulate Hun Sen on Win The Cambodia Daily 14 October 2013 28 September 2014 3 December 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131203084937/http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/france-australia-congratulate-hun-sen-on-win-45001/ dead Aftermath 2013–2014 Cambodian protests Though there were claims that the election would be "worthless" even before voting started, after the election, there were complaints of election fraud. Sam Rainsy, the leader of the CNRP, declared that "We will not accept the result – we cannot accept the result...The party in power cannot ignore us anymore."https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/world/asia/cambodian-opposition-rejects-election-results.html Cambodian Opposition Rejects Election Results Fuller Thomas 29 July 2013 The New York Times 31 July 2013 31 July 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130731035150/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/world/asia/cambodian-opposition-rejects-election-results.html live The international non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement that read that "the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) appears to have been involved in electoral fraud" and called for an "independent commission" to investigate "allegations of election fraud and other irregularities, including bias in the election machinery".https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/31/cambodia-ruling-party-orchestrated-vote-fraud Cambodia: Ruling Party Orchestrated Vote Fraud 31 July 2013 Human Rights Watch 31 July 2013 13 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160813164226/https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/31/cambodia-ruling-party-orchestrated-vote-fraud live Brad Adams, HRW's Asia Director, further stated that some of the fraud consisted of "senior ruling party officials appear to have been involved in issuing fake election documents and fraudulently registering voters in multiple provinces." The Cambodian government denied calls by international organisations for an independent election review,http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/cambodia-rejects-election-inquiry-article-1.1412398 Cambodia rejects election inquiry creating unrest amid fraud accusations 3 July 2013 Daily News New York 31 July 2013 18 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201118043122/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/cambodia-rejects-election-inquiry-article-1.1412398 live while the government rejected calls for a reviewhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/07/201373083046618367.html Cambodia rejects call for poll fraud inquiry – Asia-Pacific Al Jazeera 7 November 2025 27 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200627084214/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/07/201373083046618367.html live and the National Election Committee (NEC) denied irregularities. There were also claims of voter intimidation as the ruling party controlled the apparatus of state control.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/07/201372931511970482.html Cambodia opposition claims massive poll fraud – Asia-Pacific Al Jazeera 7 November 2025 27 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200627084153/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/07/201372931511970482.html live Thousands of CNRP supporters gathered in Phnom Penh in September to protest the results.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics-idUSBRE98E07G20130916 Reuters Cambodian opposition rallies for second day after protest death 16 September 2013 17 May 2021 5 July 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210517093251/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics-idUSBRE98E07G20130916 live See also 5th National Assembly of Cambodia Notes References Cambodia Category:General elections in Cambodia General General