Supporters of the Candlelight Party (CP) shout slogans from a vehicle during a rally on the last day of campaigning for the commune elections in Phnom Penh on June 3, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP)
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia's Constitutional Council (CCC) on Thursday rejected an appeal made by the main opposition Candlelight Party against its disqualification from a general election in July.
The dismissal was made during a meeting chaired by CCC's President Im Chhun Lim, according to a CCC press statement.
CCC's deputy secretary general Prum Vichet Akara said the National Election Committee (NEC)'s recent decision to disqualify the Candlelight Party from the upcoming election was correct
CCC's deputy secretary general Prum Vichet Akara said the National Election Committee (NEC)'s recent decision to disqualify the Candlelight Party from the upcoming election was correct and in line with the Law on the Election of Members of the National Assembly.
On May 15, the NEC refused to register the Candlelight Party for the upcoming election, saying that the party had failed to submit a verified copy of its original party registration document with the Ministry of Interior.
According to the NEC, 18 political parties had officially been recognized for the upcoming election. Among them are the ruling Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and the royalist Funcinpec Party.
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The Southeast Asian nation is scheduled to hold a general election for the 125-seat National Assembly on July 23, 2023, and more than 9.7 million Cambodians have registered to cast their ballots.