Cambodia gears up for Sunday's general elections

Описание: (28 Jul 2018) Officials in Cambodia set up polling stations on Saturday, ahead of Sunday's general election that's widely expected to cement long-standing leader Hun Sen's 33-year hold on power, due to the forced absence of the only credible opposition party.
Across the country, ballot boxes were put in place and voter lists pasted up at the almost 23,000 polling stations.
There are 8.3 (m) million registered voters.
The spokesperson for the National Election Committee, Dim Sovanarum, declared the NEC was ready, proud and capable of handling the task.
He said he expects turn-out to be around 60 per cent.
The poll was expected to be a very close, tense affair until last November, when a court ruled that the popular Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) had conspired with the US to overthrow the government, and ordered its dissolution.
The charge was widely seen as a paper-thin pretext to remove a genuine obstacle to Hun Sen's continued rule. In the last election in 2013, the CNRP had come close to pulling off a shock victory.
The government says the charges against CNRP were proven and it was dissolved in line with the rule of law.
Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party faces 19 opponents on Sunday, but none is large enough, organised enough or well resourced enough to pose a threat.
Some are said to be CPP proxies, set up to strengthen the illusion of a genuine contest.
Meanwhile Hun Sen met with foreign election observers on Saturday whose members will fan out across the country to watch polling. Russia, China and Indonesia are among the countries that have sent observers.
The US and the EU were among those that declined to do so.
Their governments have said the election is not credible without the participation of the CNRP.
Polls open on Sunday at 7 a.m. (0000GMT) and close at 3 pm (0800GMT).
Preliminary results are due around 6pm (1100GMT) the same day.

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