Cambodian supporters of opposition party Sam Rainsy
A Cambodian man and his child sit on a motorbike adorned National flags and Cambodian People's Party (CPP) flags
Trucks loaded with supporters of the Cambodian People's PartyPHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian political parties Thursday kicked off month-long campaigning for a general election that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is expected to dominate.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, wearing a garland of flowers, appealed to populist sentiments, vowing to fight inflation and other economic woes as he addressed 1,000 supporters in a Phnom Penh park.
"Land that has been grabbed will be given back to the people. Vote for Rainsy to drop the price of gasoline and raise the salaries of civil servants," he said to cheering supporters who later paraded with him through the city.
Despite the celebratory mood, analysts say that Sam Rainsy and the party that bears his name have little chance of defeating sitting Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Hun Sen on Wednesday called on political parties running in the July 27 polls to compete honestly and to accept the result of the vote.
Hun Sen has run Cambodia for 23 years, making him Southeast Asia's longest-serving leader besides the sultan of Brunei.
His current coalition partner, the royalist Funcinpec, has been hobbled by infighting and the ouster of its leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who has formed his own party.
With their ranks divided, analysts say the royalists appear spent as a political force.
Sam Rainsy is the main opposition party, but is expected to win few votes outside the capital. Hun Sen rival Kem Sokha has formed a new Human Rights Party that will be cutting its teeth in the polls.
There are 11 parties competing for 123 parliamentary seats in the poll.
Some 8.1 million people are registered to vote at 15,000 polling stations, under the eyes of more than 13,000 domestic and international observers.
During his rule, Hun Sen has ruthlessly undermined his political rivals and staged a coup in 1997, after elections forced him to share power.
But he has also steered the impoverished country out of the ashes of civil war and overseen a growing economy through increasing trade and tourism.
Garment exports and tourism have brought double-digit economic growth, but Cambodia remains one of the world's poorest countries. Some 35 percent of its 14 million people live on less than 50 US cents a day.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, wearing a garland of flowers, appealed to populist sentiments, vowing to fight inflation and other economic woes as he addressed 1,000 supporters in a Phnom Penh park.
"Land that has been grabbed will be given back to the people. Vote for Rainsy to drop the price of gasoline and raise the salaries of civil servants," he said to cheering supporters who later paraded with him through the city.
Despite the celebratory mood, analysts say that Sam Rainsy and the party that bears his name have little chance of defeating sitting Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Hun Sen on Wednesday called on political parties running in the July 27 polls to compete honestly and to accept the result of the vote.
Hun Sen has run Cambodia for 23 years, making him Southeast Asia's longest-serving leader besides the sultan of Brunei.
His current coalition partner, the royalist Funcinpec, has been hobbled by infighting and the ouster of its leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who has formed his own party.
With their ranks divided, analysts say the royalists appear spent as a political force.
Sam Rainsy is the main opposition party, but is expected to win few votes outside the capital. Hun Sen rival Kem Sokha has formed a new Human Rights Party that will be cutting its teeth in the polls.
There are 11 parties competing for 123 parliamentary seats in the poll.
Some 8.1 million people are registered to vote at 15,000 polling stations, under the eyes of more than 13,000 domestic and international observers.
During his rule, Hun Sen has ruthlessly undermined his political rivals and staged a coup in 1997, after elections forced him to share power.
But he has also steered the impoverished country out of the ashes of civil war and overseen a growing economy through increasing trade and tourism.
Garment exports and tourism have brought double-digit economic growth, but Cambodia remains one of the world's poorest countries. Some 35 percent of its 14 million people live on less than 50 US cents a day.
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