Ruling party claims victory in Cambodia polls

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's party claimed it won a sweeping victory in Sunday polls, poising him to extend his 23-year rule after a vote overshadowed by a military standoff with Thailand.

"We won the election," party spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP, citing tallies by their supporters. "We have more than a two-thirds majority now."

He claimed that the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had won at least 91 of the 123 seats in parliament, though ballots were still being counted.

The official initial vote count showed the CPP was leading with at least 62 percent of the vote in five of the nation's 24 provinces, election officers said on national television.

Final official results were not expected until next month.

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