Cambodian Election Board Ratifies Ruling Party Win [Nothing new, the winner has been pre-determined prior to the election]

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia September 7, 2013 (AP)

By SOPHENG CHEANG and JUSTINE DRENNAN Associated Press

Cambodia's government-appointed election board has ratified the victory of incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party, rejecting opposition claims that the polls were unfair.

The results announced on state television Sunday morning handed 68 National Assembly seats to Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and 55 to the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.

The opposition has contested the outcome of the July 28 election, saying it would have won the majority of seats had the election been fair, but its legal challenges were rejected. It had threatened street protests and a boycott of the assembly unless until its demand for an independent probe of alleged election irregularities was met.

Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for 28 years and remains firmly in control, although the opposition won significantly more seats than it had in the past.

The new parliament is supposed to be seated within 60 days of the election.

Nearly 20,000 opposition supporters gathered Saturday in Cambodia's capital to cheer their leaders' demands for an investigation of what their leaders said was vote tampering and widespread voter disenfranchisement. The opposition vowed Sunday to continue its protests.