Elections 2017

The CPP has filed a complaint to a commune election committee in Takeo province alleging that a group of CNRP supporters obstructed a ruling party parade of about 400 supporters on Saturday, officials said yesterday.

Officials yesterday said government-issued media guidelines for election coverage which prohibit the publication of news that affects the country’s “social stability” were just a “reminder” of existing laws, but some NGOs said the issuing of the code of conduct was an act meant to “stifle dissent.”

Skirting the fiery rhetoric of some of its past rallies and the strong response from authorities that it often elicited, the CNRP kicked off its commune election campaign with a message of change.

Throngs of supporters clad in white shirts and hats emblazoned with the CPP logo officially kicked off the ruling party’s commune election campaign in Phnom Penh over the weekend.

There's a festive spirit south of central Phnom Penh this morning as several hundred CNRP supporters gather on motorbikes, trucks, and SUVs on the newly-inaugurated Hun Sen Boulevard. From here, the parade will slowly snake north and then west of the city over the course of the day.

As the country enters its first campaign period since the CNRP nearly upset the ruling party in 2013, the opposition party believes momentum is on its side.