Cambodian political parties kicked off a three-week-long campaign on Saturday for a controversial general election on July 29, which strongman Hun Sen is poised to sweep after the main opposition were disbanded and their senior members driven into self-exile, The Straits Times reports. Japan’s government has defended its plan to support Cambodia’s general election, despite criticism that it cannot be either free or fair without the participation of the main opposition party. While Cambodia technically has dozens of political parties, only two parties have shown an ability to mobilize large numbers of voters – Hun Sen’s own Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) and the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), which took 48 percent and 44 percent of the popular vote, respectively, in the 2013 national election.