Members of Cambodia's human rights agencies said Monday they were worried about violence in the pre-campaign period, with some candidates already being intimidated, threatened, and, in a few cases, killed.
The violence was contributing to a "political crisis," according to the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, a coalition of 21 civic groups.
"Political killings, intimidations and harassments have been rising, in particular, in the remote areas," the coalition said.
At least five political activists were killed between January and May, the coalition said.