Cambodia election LIVE: Latest updates as Cambodians prepare to cast votes on Sunday

Hun Sen’s long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party is expected to sweep to victory, despite 19 political parties standing in opposition. 

The Cambodian National Rescue Party should have been the main challenge to Hun Sen, and despite making significant gains, narrowly lost the general election in 2013. 

But following last year’s local elections, Hun Sen launched a crackdown on dissidents, the media and rights organisations that he accused of trying to overthrow the Government.

But by the end of last year, the CNRP had been disolved by the Supreme Court, Court, with many of its lawmakers banned from politics for five years. 

Brad Adams, Asia director of campaign group Human Rights Watch, said: “The Cambodian Government over the past year has systematically cracked down on independent and opposition voices to ensure that the ruling party faces no obstacles to total political control.

“Dissolving the main opposition party and banning many of its senior members from politics means this election cannot possibly reflect the will of the Cambodian people.”

According to Nikkei Asian Review, polling stations will open 7am local time (1am BST) on Sunday and close at 3pm (9am BST) later that day. 

Cambodia’s National Election Committee website was down repeatedly on Saturday when Express.co.uk tried to check. 

But due to the lack of real opposition to Hun Sen, who has ruled for more than 30 years, the election has already been declared a “sham” by Cambodia’s main opposition politicians. 

Campaign group Human Rights Watch has labelled the election “fundamentally flawed”  and has warned that banning the main opposition makes the vote “meaningless”.

Dim Sovannarom, a spokesman for the National Election Committee, told reporters he still expects more than 60 percent of registered voters in Cambodia to cast their ballot.

This would compare to 70 percent from the election in 2013.