Cambodia's ruling party claims landslide victory in Senate polls

By Anadolu staff

Cambodia's ruling party Sunday claimed a sweeping victory in the Senate election, winning 50 out of 58 seats up for grabs, a party spokesperson said.

The upper house election for the fifth legislative term has also set the stage for former Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen to officially return to politics after he stepped down last year.

The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) spokesperson Sok Eysan, told reporters that his party has won 50 of the 58 seats, or more than 80% of the total votes.

"This is another great success for the CPP after we won a landslide victory in the general election in July 2023," Eysan said.

He confirmed that Hun Sen, the head of CCP, will take over as the president of the Senate after the election, giving him the role of acting head of state when the king is overseas.

Former Khmer Rouge guerrilla Hun Sen, 72, has led Cambodia for 38 years. He handed the premiership to his oldest son Hun Manet after the CCP won the parliamentary elections in July last year.

The National Electoral Committee is likely to take a few weeks to publish official results.

Apart from CCP, the royalist FUNCINPEC party and two small opposition parties participated in the polls.

Of the 62-seat Senate, 58 seats are voted on by 125 MPs and more than 11,000 local administrators, while two senators, each, are appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni, and the lower house or the National Assembly.