2022 Cambodian communal elections

2022 Cambodian communal election

5 June 2022
All 1,652 Commune Chiefs (C) All 11,622 seats in the Commune Council (c)
Registered	9,205,681 17.0%
Turnout	7,394,427 (80.3%) 10.1%
First party Second party   Leader Hun Sen Teav Vannol Party CPP Candlelight Leader since 20 June 2015 2 November 2015 Seats won 1,648 (C) · 9,376 (c) 4 (C) · 2,198 (c) Seat change 492 (C) · 2,873 (c) 4 (C) · 2,198 (c) Popular vote 5,378,773 1,610,556 Percentage 74.3% 22.2% Swing 23.5% 22.2%
Party Seats +/– Communal Chief Cambodian People's Party 1648 +492 Candlelight Party 4 +4 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Party Seats +/– Communal Councilor Cambodian People's Party 9376 +2873 Candlelight Party 2198 +2198 FUNCINPEC 19 −8 Khmer National United Party 13 −11 Cambodia National Love Party 5 +5 Cambodian Youth Party 3 +3 Grassroots Democratic Party 6 +1 Kampucheaniyum Party 1 +1 Beehive Social Democratic Party 1 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Communal elections were held in Cambodia on 5 June 2022. It was the fifth quinquennial communal election in Cambodia since 2002. 1,652 communes in all 25 provinces of Cambodia were contested for a total of 11,622 commune council seats. The election precedes the 2023 general election and the 2024 Senate election. 9.2 million of 10.5 million eligible voters were registered to cast their ballots. Voter turnout was 80.3%.

The result was a landslide victory for the Cambodian People's Party which won 74% of the popular vote, 1,648 commune chiefs, and more than 9,000 commune councillors. The resurgent Candlelight Party, a faction of the disbanded Cambodia National Rescue Party, won 22% of the popular vote, but only 4 commune chiefs. It also marked the first time ever that no party was led by either Sam Rainsy, Kem Sokha, and Norodom Ranariddh. The aftermath of the election was marked by continued arrests of opposition supporters.

Background

The main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved in November 2017 following the communal elections.

Major parties contesting

82,786 candidates from 17 political parties contested the election according to the National Election Committee (NEC). The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had fielded candidates in all 1,652 communes, followed by the Candlelight Party at 1,632 communes, and FUNCINPEC at 688 communes.

Parties contesting the elections:

• Beehive Social Democratic Party
• Cambodia Reform Party
• Cambodian Democratic Indigenous People's Party
• Cambodian Nation Love Party
• Cambodian Nationality Party
• Cambodian People's Party
• Cambodian Youth Party
• Candlelight Party
• FUNCINPEC
• Grassroots Democratic Party
• Kampucheaniyum Party
• Khmer Economic Development Party
• Khmer National United Party
• Khmer United Party
• Khmer Will Party
• Reaksmey Khemara Party

Results

Party		Votes	%	Swing	Chiefs	+/–	Councillors	+/–
	Cambodian People's Party	5,378,773	74.32	23.5	1,648	492	9,376	2,873
	Candlelight Party	1,610,556	22.25	22.2	4	4	2,198	2198
	FUNCINPEC	91,798	1.27	0.63	0	0	19	9
	Khmer National United Party	63,868	0.88	0.25	0	1	13	11
	Cambodia National Love Party	33,259	0.46	0.46	0	0	5	5
	Cambodian Youth Party	13,841	0.19	0.17	0	0	3	3
	Cambodia Nationality Party	13,140	0.18	0.15	0	0	0	0
	Khmer Will Party	7,556	0.10	0.10	0	0	0	0
	Grassroots Democratic Party	6,807	0.09	0.02	0	0	6	1
	Cambodia Reform Party	5,024	0.07	0.07	0	0	0	0
	Kampucheaniyum Party	4,856	0.07	0.07	0	0	1	1
	Beehive Social Democratic Party	2,460	0.03	0.42	0	0	1	0
	Cambodia Indigenous People's Democracy Party	1,634	0.02	0	0	0	0	0
	Khmer United Party	1,599	0.02	0.02	0	0	0	0
	Ekpheap Cheat Khmer Party	1,126	0.02	0.02	0	0	0	0
	Reaksmey Khemara Party	446	0.01	0.01	0	0	0	0
	Khmer Economic Development Party	294	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0
Total		7,237,037	100	100	1,652	6	11,622	50
Valid votes		7,237,037	97.87
Invalid/blank votes		157,390	2.13
Total votes		7,394,427	100
Registered voters/turnout		9,205,681	80.3
Source: National Election Committee