Cambodia’s inverted mandala?

This map was constructed from the results provided by the Cambodian National Election Committee, which can be found here. Dispute over the results continues with Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Saim Rainsy saying yesterday that the only acceptable solution would be to have an independent committee to investigate their claims. Compared to Thai elections where support for a conservative party is seen to be stronger in the capital, this Cambodian election provides an interesting, and perhaps inverted, contrast.

What this means for Cambodian politics remains unclear. As I have commented elsewhere, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) government has deployed the military in Phnom Penh in response to protests threatened by CNRP. Tension is running high within the military, too. While this nebulous political landscape fuels a climate of uncertainty, certainty can perhaps be found in the notion that if Hun Sen’s power is seriously threatened, there will be a serious reaction.

Table of preliminary results from the 2013 National Election

			Seats gained by parties
No.	Province/City	Seats	CPP	CNRP
1	Banteay Meanchey	6	4	2
2	Battambang	8	5	3
3	Kampong Cham	18	8	10
4	Kampong Chhnang	4	2	2
5	Kampong Speu	6	3	3
6	Kampong Thom	6	3	3
7	Kampot	6	3	3
8	Kandal	11	5	6
9	Koh Kong	1	1	0
10	Kratie	3	2	1
11	Mondul Kiri	1	1	0
12	Phnom Penh	12	5	7
13	Preah Vihear	1	1	0
14	Prey Veng	11	5	6
15	Poussat	4	3	1
16	Rattana Kiri	1	1	0
17	Siem Reap	6	4	2
18	Sihanouk	1	1	0
19	Steung Treng	1	1	0
20	Suay Rieng	5	3	2
21	Takeo	8	4	4
22	Kep	1	1	0
23	Pailin	1	1	0
24	Oddar Meanchey	1	1	0
	Total	123	68	55

This table was translated from the results released by the CPP a day after the election. On 12 August, the National Election Committee announced preliminary results that did not differ, in terms of seat distribution, from these results.

Colum Graham is a PhD candidate in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific