The son rises in Cambodia after Hun Sen’s rigged election
The ‘death of democracy’ cements the military’s power in politics – and paves the way for the prime minister’s succession plan
Cambodian strongman Hun Sen’s supposed sweeping victory in the last weekend’s heavily rigged general election is set to cement the role of the country’s armed forces in politics and pave the way for his son’s rise to power.
Although official results won’t be announced until the middle of this month, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) spokespeople have publicly said it took roughly 80 per cent of the popular vote and won all 125 seats of the National Assembly. If true, it would consolidate the party’s complete domination over Cambodia’s political institutions. The CPP already controls all but four seats in the country’s upper house after senate elections in February, and holds roughly 95 per cent of all elected positions at the local level.
The latest victory was hardly a surprise given that the only viable opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved last year. Most of its politicians are now in exile. Its leader, Kem Sokha, remains in pre-trial detention after his arrest in September on treason charges. Several democratic nations, including the United States, called the election illegitimate and the CNRP’s vice-president Mu Sochua described the result as the “death of democracy” in Cambodia. But it could portend an even more alarming future.
Paul Chambers, a lecturer at the College of Asean Community Studies at Naresuan University in Thailand, said the result could spell “the further militarisation of Cambodia’s parliament and Cambodian politics in general”, allowing Hun Sen to transform himself into a “Napoleon, overseeing a camouflaged military autocracy”.
Japan plays China’s game in Cambodia. Hun Sen wins
Three of Cambodia’s most senior military figures ran for parliament on the CPP ticket last weekend. Pol Saroeun, the former commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, was a candidate in Preah Sihanouk province. Meanwhile two former armed forces deputy commanders-in-chief, Meas Sophea and Kun Kim, ran for office in Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces, respectively.
