PHNOM PENH: Political parties participating in the 5th Commune/District Council Election held large-scale campaign marches on the last day of the election campaign on Friday, 3 June. Starting tomorrow, all campaigns will be halted, including all forms of publicity, in order to give voters time to make a decision on which representatives of their choice they wish to elect.

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) launched a nationwide campaign in the last days, with its Vice President, DPM Sar Kheng, leading a campaign rally in Prey Veng Province with tens of thousands of participants. The provincial CPP working group chairman also did the same on Friday morning.

The Chairman of the Phnom Penh Municipal Party Committee, Khuong Sreng, led the march this morning, with tens of thousands of participants in Phnom Penh.

Speaking before the closing campaign March, Party Committee Chairman, Khuong Sreng, said, "A vote for the Cambodian People's Party is not only a success for the Cambodian People's Party, but also strengthens the foundations of liberal multi-party democracy and promotes development."

In the afternoon of the closing day of the campaign, MPs and the son of the CPP President, Hun Many, also led a rally in Phnom Penh with about 20,000 participants.

The Candlelight Party and the Khmer United National Party also led their supporters in large-scale marches in the capital city.

The President of the CPP, Prime Minister Hun Sen, sent a special voice message on Friday, 3 June, thanking the 4th Mandate Commune Council members elected in 2017. He acknowledged that some commune chiefs may have committed small mistakes during their terms, but when assessing their merits, they still had more pros than cons.

The Prime Minister said, "For the past five years, you have really worked hard and are very tired, I am very grateful, and a large number of you may be re-elected to serve again in the future. Of course, some mistakes are inevitable, but compared to the merits that commune councilors have achieved in the past, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.”

The National Election Committee (NEC) also issued a statement on Friday, 3 June, confirming that in recent days, all political parties have been active in campaigning across the country. The Committee said that in Phnom Penh, there were three parties engaging in campaign marches with about 53,800 participants. In Siem Reap there were three parties marching with about 72,064 participants, and in Svay Rieng there were four parties and approximately 31,362 people who joined rallies.

The NEC assessed that "the general situation of the political party election campaign in the last days was conducted in an environment of security, safety, good order, no violence and no threats."

Tomorrow, Saturday, 4 June, is considered a ‘white day’ that does not allow any political campaigning activity from any party. The Ministry of Information, on Wednesday, 1 June, instructed all media to stop broadcasting information related to the 5th Commune/District Council Election on 4 June 2022, 24 hours before Election Day to give voters time to make a decision on who they wish to elect.

The 5th Commune/District Council Election will be held on Sunday, 5 June, with candidates from 17 political parties competing to hold 11,622 commune council seats from 1,652 communes and districts nationwide, and with more than 9.2 million people registered to vote.