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Cambodian election draws criticism
Criticism continues to mount over Cambodia's general election following incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen’s claim on Monday that his party had won the one-horse race in a landslide, with activists, including those from Indonesia, labeling it illegitimate and authoritarian.
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People look at voter lists on the day of Cambodia's general election, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 23, 2023. (Reuters/Cindy Liu)
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riticism continues to mount over Cambodia's general election following incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen’s claim on Monday that his party had won the one-horse race in a landslide, with activists, including those from Indonesia, labeling it illegitimate and authoritarian.
Rallying against the election, which was carried out over the weekend, dozens of human rights and pro-democracy organizations from Southeast Asia have expressed their apprehension, with some urging ASEAN to refrain from legitimizing Hun Sen’s government.
On Sunday, over 8 million Cambodians cast their ballots to choose from the 18 eligible political parties, with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) being the strongest among them, without any real opposition.
Holding the record as Asia’s longest-ruling leader, with 38 years in office, Hun Sen in March banned the only real challenger to his governance, the Candlelight Party, from contesting in the July election for alleged faulty paperwork. Hun Sen’s move was also followed up by threats of penalties for any Cambodian citizen seeking to boycott the polls.
The CPP on Monday then announced its victory in securing 120 out of the 125 seats in the parliament, cementing Hun Sen's grip on the country's politics ahead of a possible transition of power to his son Hun Manet. The announcement, however, came despite the Cambodian National Election Committee’s statement on the same day that the ballot count had not been finalized.
“Ahead of the Sunday general election, we had expected that the polls would be dominated by the ruling CPP,” Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
“[...] Several Candlelight Party members have been arbitrarily detained, [and] new regulations came into force aimed at punishing people, [making] further mockery of the right to freedom of expression.”
