CAMBODIA: One small explosion next to an opposition party's headquarters and the discovery of two grenades outside the royal palace marred yesterday's otherwise peaceful general election in Cambodia.
Election officials estimated at least 80 per cent of the 6.3 million registered voters cast ballots in the country's third poll for the 123-seat national assembly.
The national election commission blamed the explosion of a crude, home-made device outside the headquarters of the royalist opposition party, Funcinpec, in the capital, Phnom Penh, and the grenades outside the palace, on "hoodlums who want to tarnish our nation's image".
Mr Hang Puthea, director of one of Cambodia's two main independent monitoring groups, Nicfec, dismissed the explosion as an isolated incident. "Overall, today was OK," he said. "There were some irregularities and some disorganisation, but nothing significant." Mr Khan Sophirom, who voted in Phnom Penh, said he initially could not find his name on the register, while other voters gave up in frustration after waiting for almost an hour. When he voted, the Prime Minister, Mr Hun Sen, said nothing beyond urging others to do the same and commenting on the weather.
Observers predict he will remain in office because his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is expected to win about 60 seats, with the remainder split between Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy party. The CPP's dominance is due to its control of the bureaucracy, and especially the appointment of village chiefs.
Preliminary returns are expected today and observers fear that the country could degenerate into violence if the CPP is seen to have won too large a share of the seats. The official results are not due for a fortnight.