Social Media Drives Youth Involvement in Cambodia’s National Elections – TechPresident.com
Cambodia’s June 28 national elections ushered in the dawn of a new age of electoral politics in the small, southeast Asian country. A hotly contested election saw unprecedented political engagement coming from the country’s youth – those under 25 years old. And in an indirect way, Mark Zuckerberg and friends are responsible.
As of June 30 the ruling Cambodian People’s Party appears to have won the elections, but the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, led by Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, has made unprecedented gains, picking up 55 seats to the ruling party’s 68.
Claiming there was massive voter fraud, with a reported 1 million voters left off the polling station lists, the CNRP has rejected the election results. The party is calling for the establishment of a joint committee to investigate the allegations of vote rigging. As the nation waits for the final tally of votes to be announced, one thing is clear: the Internet has played a pivotal role in the 2013 Cambodian elections.
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