The fifth commune elections kicked off in Cambodia on Sunday after a two-week peaceful election campaign to choose commune chiefs and councilors for 1,652 communes. A total of 23,602 polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and are due to close at 3:00 p.m. local time, according to the National Election Committee (NEC). Seventeen political parties are contesting in the polls, with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and the opposition Candlelight Party being the major contestants. Hun Sen voted at a polling station near his residence in Kandal province’s Ta Khmau city, about 10 km south of capital Phnom Penh. The prime minister did not make any statement after casting his ballot, but he expressed hope on Friday that all political parties would accept the election results.