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The official campaign period for the July 27 election kicked off Thursday in Cambodia to elect a new legislature to form a new government for the next five years.
The three main political parties held grand ceremonies for a month-long campaign respectively, with the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in its headquarters in Phnom Penh and the royalist party FUNCINPEC in Kampong Cham province, while the opposition SamRainsy Party (SRP) in the park in front of the National Assembly building.
They have already prepared signs, buttons and T-shirts to distribute. Also starting from Thursday, candidates from the three parties will begin a set of debates sponsored by the US-based National Democratic Institute.
The one-month official campaign will end on July 25. Some 6.34 million registered voters will participate in the voting on July 27, among them, about 1.2 million are new voters.
It will be Cambodia's third national election. The first one was held in 1993 under the supervision of the United Nations, and second in 1998. There will have a fierce contest among the 22 political parties.
But analysts said the real race will be among the CPP, FUNCINPEC and SRP.
According to Cambodia's National Election Committee, some 15,481 local and 174 international election monitors have arrived in the country, and the number of foreign observers is expected to exceed 1,000 as the July 27 polls draw nearer.
The 1998 election cost was 26 million US dollars, and 2002 expenditure on commune election, 15 million dollars, while the estimate for the coming election is 12.48 million dollars, according to the committee's figures.
(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2003)
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