KTMphil
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- CHUN HAN WONG
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Dozens of protesters, upset at being denied a chance to vote in Cambodia's national elections, clashed with military policemen outside the polling station in Phnom Penh's southwestern Stung Meanchey district, according to local election watchdog Comfrel.
[h=3]Election Day in Cambodia[/h] View Slideshow
Reuters
Video footage and photographs obtained by Comfrel—and seen by The Wall Street Journal—also showed the protesters overturning two military police vehicles and setting them alight. It wasn't immediately clear if there were any casualties caused by the violence.
Police officials weren't immediately available to comment.
The incident occurred as millions of Cambodians cast votes in an unusually competitive national election, in which Prime Minister Hun Sen—who has held power for 28 years—and his Cambodian People's Party seeks to win a fresh five-year term against a spirited challenge from the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.
Sunday's vote has been marred by allegations of electoral fraud. Ink used to mark voters' fingers to prevent repeat voting is easily removed, while some citizens report not being able to find their names on voter registers, or that their ballots had been cast by other people, Comfrel said.
Nearly all districts of the capital have voter-registration rates of more than 100% and the city's election rolls show more than 25,000 duplicate names, according to local English-language daily the Phnom Penh Post.
Enlarge Image
European Pressphoto Agency Angry Cambodians on top of an overturned police car next to a polling station in Phnom Penh.
The CPP has challenged opposition accusers to produce evidence of fraud to the National Election Committee—a nominally independent agency that is led by officials closely linked to the ruling party.
Until Sunday, the campaign for this year's general election—the fifth since a 1991 cease-fire ended decades of civil war and genocide--had been largely peaceful, spared of assassinations and deadly clashes that had marred previous votes.
Polls closed at 3 p.m. after eight hours of voting, and preliminary results were expected late Sunday evening. Eight parties are contesting the election but the CPP and the Cambodia National Rescue Party are the main contenders. There are 9.6 million eligible voters, many of whom are voting for the first time.
The CPP—which has governed Cambodia since 1979—won 90 out of 123 seats in 2008 with about 58% of the vote. Opposition forces that merged last year to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party claimed 29 seats five years ago.
Violence Mars Cambodia Election Amid Voter-List Dispute - WSJ.com