PHNOM PENH: Representatives of the international observer organizations held a press conference on the morning of July 24 at the Hyatt Hotel in Phnom Penh. The observers widely agreed that the election in Cambodia was democratic and ran smoothly and transparently. They insisted that Cambodia is not a one-party state.

Andrei Maximov, a representative from Russia’s civic council, said that the preliminary election results showed the possibility of two parties having seats in parliament, a sign of diversity in the Cambodian political landscape that could not be called as a one-party state. He added that it is not unusual to have two parties in parliament, citing the United States congress. He said, "This is a sign of democracy. In the United States, there are only two parties that have been present in the race for centuries."

As for the CPP winning the majority of National Assembly seats, Andrei Maximov said that more or less reflects the support of the people. "We look at Japan, South Korea, Italy and Spain who were in a similar manner in parliament after World War II and see that for centuries we have not seen any criticism of those countries," he added.

Cambodia’s 7th National Assembly election took place on July 23, while preliminary results show the CPP winning 120 seats and royalist FUNCINPEC gaining 5 seats. For the past five years, the CPP has held all 125 seats in addition to all seats in the Senate.

Based on the electoral calendar, the official election results will be announced between August 9 and September 4, 2023, so long as no complaints are filed or re-elections required.