The battleground seats
A guide to the provinces where the fighting may be fiercest.
Siem Reap
6 seats
Though Siem Reap has long been a ruling-party stronghold (the CPP won four of six seats here in 2003, increasing their spoils to five of six seats in 2008), if recent opposition rallies are anything to go by, the province could be one of the more competitive domains in this election.
An estimated 100,000 supporters turned out to greet Sam Rainsy there Wednesday, possibly matching the number that turned out in Phnom Penh, the party’s traditional base, for his return from self-exile.
Rainsy’s rhetoric in Siem Reap aimed to exploit local sentiments that “Vietnamese” businesses have too much control over the province’s lucrative tourist trade.
Analysts also say that living standards in Siem Reap, which remains one of the Kingdom’s poorest provinces, will be a key issue. …
