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Cambodia's election council invites observers to inspect poll result verification

01 August 2013 19:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Cambodia's National Election Committee (NEC) said on Thursday that it will begin to examine and verify the results of last Sunday's general election from Saturday onwards and invited observers to inspect the process, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"The NEC would like to invite national and international observers to monitor and verify the results of Sunday's poll at the NEC's headquarters in Phnom Penh," it said in a statement. " Observers' presence is very important."

Eight political parties contested in the poll, but only two parties gained seats in parliament.

According to the initial unofficial results, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen won the absolute majority with 68 parliamentary seats and the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) gained the remaining 55 seats.

However, the CNRP on Monday rejected the results for alleged widespread fraud and called for the NEC to establish a joint committee to investigate irregularities during the poll.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday that the government and the CPP will welcome any NEC mechanism, which allows the participation of political parties and non-governmental organizations in order to solve remaining problems in the poll.

"I think that this is a positive way to solve the remaining issues and to show transparency and find a solution that can be acceptable to all sides," the premier said.

Hun Sen, who has been in power for 28 years, will extend his power by another five years for Sunday's victory.

As of Wednesday, the NEC had not made any announcement whether a joint committee will be formed for the investigation of alleged irregularities.