Cambodia’s Hun Sen Prepared to Extend His Rule

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party is well placed to extend its rule in next year’s national elections after trouncing the competition at last week’s local commune elections.

The victory would also enable Hun Sen to hand power to his eldest son.

As expected, the CPP took advantage of a ban on the main opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, whose supporters struggled to reorganize before the vote with hundreds of its members before the courts or in jail.

However, the Candlelight Party, which emerged from the remnants of the CNRP, established itself as Cambodia’s main opposition party, with a total of 17 political parties vying for thousands of positions in 1,652 communes — clusters of three to 30 villages.

“The elections went the way most people were expecting, so there were certainly no surprises there,” said David Totten, managing director of Emerging Markets Consulting in Phnom Penh.

“Given the instability that there’s been regionally and internationally, there may even be some people who’d breathe a sigh of relief that Cambodia – whilst continuing on a political path that’s not acceptable in the eyes of many – at least it’s not a cause of instability or concern in the region.”

Final results will be announced by the National Election Committee on June 26, but the preliminary count shows the CPP won 72.7% of the popular vote, up from 50.76% in 2017, when the CNRP scored almost 44% of the overall vote, shortly before it was outlawed by the courts.

This year, the Candlelight Party won 21.78% of the popular vote, a long way behind the CPP and the CNRP’s previous tally, but there were mitigating circumstances.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES