Cambodian referendum, 1945

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A six-issue referendum was held in Cambodia on 3 October 1945. The questions included whether the country should become independent, and whether the presence of foreign military forces should be refused. There were no "no" votes to any of the questions, although two had one or two invalid votes.[1] Voter turnout was 80.3%.

Background

On 10 August Son Ngoc Thanh replaced Prime Minister Ung Hy from power, and held a referendum to try and legitimise his government.

Conduct

It is not clear whether the referendum was held by voters putting a ballot paper in a box. Thanh sent a list of five questions to provincial governors for them to ask voters.[2] The question on independence was worded:[2]

Do you want to be free like Jayavarman with the Angkor Wat temples?

Results

Choice Votes %
For541,470100
Against00
Invalid/blank votes0-
Total541,470100
Registered voters/turnout674,04880.33
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

  1. ↑ Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p68 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cambodia, 3 October 1945: Independence Democracy