PHNOM PENH, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia on Monday warned that anyone calling for the people to boycott the upcoming general election could be fined and face criminal charges.
An NEC statement said under the Law on Election of Members of the National Assembly, anyone preventing voters from casting ballots would be fined by the NEC between 1,250 U.S. dollars and 5,000 dollars, and could also face criminal charges.
"The NEC would like to appeal to those individuals to stop their contrary-to-law activities immediately," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the NEC called for the eligible voters to vote on July 29, 2018 in order to exercise their rights to elect their leaders.
The warning came a day after Sam Rainsy, exiled president of the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), urged people to boycott the upcoming election if the CNRP was not allowed to participate.
Rainsy has been living in self-imposed exile in France since November 2015 to avoid at least eight-year-prison sentence for defamation and incitement cases.
On Nov. 16 last year, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the CNRP after its leader Kem Sokha, Sam Rainsy's successor, was arrested on Sept. 3 last year and charged with "treason" for conspiring with a foreign power in an attempt to overthrow the government.