Cambodia will hold its national Senate election for the first time on Sunday with analysts here saying that it is the election without suspense with everyone knowing the results already.

The election will not be by universal suffrage. Only 11,261 commune councilors throughout the country and 123 parliamentarians will take part in this election.

Four political parties will compete for 57 of the 61 Senate seats. The remaining four seats will be appointed by the National Assembly and the King, which can chose two representatives each.

The four parties include the ruling Cambodian People's Party ( CPP), the royalist FUNCINPEC party, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP and the less-known Khmer Democratic Party (KDP).

Local analysts maintained that the election results are largely predictable as the CPP and its coalition partner FUNCINPEC are the ruling parties, and the largest and influential parties in the country.

The CPP has 31 seats in the current Senate, the FUNCINPEC has 21 and the SRP seven, with the remaining two appointed by the former King Norodom Sihanouk.

Moreover, the CPP won the major victory in the Commune Councils Election held in February 2002. In 1,621 districts and communes throughout the country, CPP has won in 1,598 districts and communes, while FUNCINPEC and the SRP won in 10 and 13 districts and communes, respectively.

The nearly 20-day low-key campaign had taken place without intimidation or violence. The electoral campaign began on Dec. 31 and ended on Friday, two days before the election.

Local media reported that most supporters of the SRP conceded the number of opposition Senate seats is likely to drop from seven to three in the elections. The party leader Sam Rainsy has been in self-exile since February 2005, and is still absence from the country.

FUNCINPEC party has the target to take votes away from the SRP, not from the CPP, local media reported. While the SRP said though the party will get only four or five seats, it will still take part in the election. The KDP also said the election for the party will not be a "magnificent ceremony."

The NEC has set up 33 polling stations in towns and provinces across the country and has spent 450,000 U.S. dollars organizing the election.

Phnom Penh and the provinces are divided into eight constituencies. The number of seats per constituency depends on the number of people in the province. The largest single constituency, Kompong Cham, gets eight seats.

The NEC has announced to forbid voters to bring phones, cameras, voice and picture recording equipment into the election centers to ensure a free and fair election climate. "The person who breaches the regulations will be punished," said Im Suosdey, chairman of the NEC.

According to the Constitution promulgated in 1993 the Kingdom had a single-chamber Parliament.

The Senate was created as an upper house by constitutional amendment in March 1999, with the power to amend or veto legislation passed by the National Assembly.

The first Senate's 61 members were not elected; two were appointed by the King, and the rest by the political parties in proportion to their seats in the lower chamber.

But the second mandate of the Senate is different from the first one. In the second mandate, 57 Senators will be elected and will have a representative identity for communal council rallied in eight regions.

"With the second mandate, the Senate must have an important role in meeting the requirements of its voters," Chea Sim, current Chairman of the Senate, was quoted by Development Weekly as saying.

"With a population of 13 million people, We have to represent 11,261 communal councils," he added.

The official results of the election will be announced later on Sunday, according to Leng Sochea, the spokesman of the NEC.

Source: Xinhua