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Cambodia’s king appoints Hun Sen’s son as new leader
- Hun Manet was effectively gifted the PM post by his strongman father, who stood down days after a landslide victory in elections decried as a sham
- The 45-year-old and his cabinet will have to face a confidence vote in a parliament dominated by his ruling party to officially become leader
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Hun Manet’s nomination as Cambodia’s new leader was approved by the country’s king on Monday, after the 45-year-old was effectively gifted the post by his father who had ruled for nearly four decades.
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Days after a landslide victory in July’s election, Hun Sen – one of the world’s longest-serving leaders – announced he was stepping down as prime minister and handing power to his eldest son.
The polls were widely decried as a sham after the main opposition challenger, the Candlelight Party, was barred from running over a technicality, with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party winning all but five seats in the 125-member lower house.
On Monday, following a request from Hun Sen, King Norodom Sihamoni issued a royal decree stating that he “appoints Dr Hun Manet as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia for the 7th mandate of the parliament”.
The decree endorsing the Western-educated army general was shared on the Telegram channel of his father and signals the imminent end of the former Khmer Rouge guerrilla’s nearly four decades at the helm of a country rebounding from decades of war and poverty.
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