Heir apparent hails election victory

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s heir apparent insisted yesterday on the legitimacy of elections his party won against no meaningful opposition, defying international criticism that the polls were neither free nor fair.

Hun Sen has presided over Cambodia for nearly 40 years — stifling all real opposition, freedom of speech and democratic reform — but has indicated recently that he will soon hand power to his eldest son Hun Manet.

The United States yesterday condemned the polls, in which the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) was predicted to win all but five of 125 parliamentary seats in the Lower House.

But Hun Manet posted a triumphant message across multiple social media platforms hailing his party’s victory.

“The Cambodian people have clearly expressed their wills through votes,” he wrote.

“An overwhelming number have expressed support for the Cambodian People’s Party.”

People wait onshore for ferries after voting in the general election in Arey Ksat city of Kandal in Cambodia yesterday. afp

He thanked Cambodians “for choosing to vote, and especially for all the love and confidence in the CPP”.

Official results will not be available for weeks, although the CPP claimed late on Sunday to have won a “landslide” victory.

The small government-aligned royalist FUNCINPEC party, headed by Prince Norodom Chakravuth, is expected to take five seats — giving the new parliament at least a patina of diversity after the CPP won every seat in the last election. The disqualification of the only viable opposition force, the Candlelight Party, on a technicality meant there was no realistic outcome other than a big CPP win.

The United States said the elections were “neither free nor fair”, pointing to “a pattern of threats and harassment against the political opposition, media, and civil society”.

“These actions denied the Cambodian people a voice and a choice in determining the future of their country,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement yesterday. He said Washington was preparing to impose visa restrictions on some individuals. AFP