PHNOM PENH: Cambodians voted on Sunday in a one-sided election that is expected to extend the governing party’s political dominance, paving the way for a historic leadership change and the end of one of the world’s longest-serving premiers’ tenure.
The election is virtually a one-horse race, with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), a political juggernaut with a massive war fund, facing no viable opponent following a merciless, years-long onslaught on its competitors.
Activists have called the election a fraud, pointing out that the CPP is up against 17 relatively unknown parties, none of whom gained seats in the previous election in 2018.
Long lines formed at polling places throughout the morning. According to National Election Committee official Dim Sovannarom, 6.2 million of the 9.7 million eligible voters have cast ballots before midday (0500 GMT).
Former Khmer Rouge rebel Hun Sen, 70, has commanded Cambodia for 38 years and has dismissed Western concerns about the election’s integrity, aiming to avoid any impediment to his designated successor and eldest son, Hun Manet.
There was no timetable for the transition until Thursday, when Hun Sen hinted that his son “could be” prime minister next month, depending on “whether Hun Manet will be able to do it or not.” To become Prime Minister, he must first gain a seat in the National Assembly, which is very likely.
Hun Manet, 45, smiled and posed for photographs with fans after voting in the capital Phnom Penh in front of a crowd of reporters.
He dodged queries about his chances of becoming Prime Minister and whether he would rule differently than his father. “No comment, please, no comment.” “I’ve just arrived to vote,” he explained in English, smiling.
Analysts predicted that the changeover would take place in the middle of the year, giving Hun Manet time to gain legitimacy among the public and political elite.
“Transferring power while he is still physically and mentally well allows Hun Sen to strongly protect his son from any internal challenges,” said Gordon Conochie, an adjunct research scholar at La Trobe University and author of a new book on Cambodian democracy.
“As long as Hun Sen is around, nobody will move against Hun Manet.”
Hun Manet has given few media appearances and provided no hints about his vision for Cambodia and its 16 million people.
He received a master’s degree in economics from New York University and a PhD in economics from the University of Bristol, as well as attending the West Point military college, which helped him ascend through the ranks of Cambodia’s military to army chief and deputy armed forces commander.
Major nations will be looking for clues as to whether Hun Manet will preserve his father’s autocratic regime or pursue greater liberalisation and a more Western-style democracy.
If he wants to keep Cambodia out of China’s clutches and repair ties with the US that have been frayed by his father’s iron fist style, this will be a crucial emphasis.
Hun Manet was greeted like a rock star at a large gathering on Friday, when he promised “a bright future” with a vote for the CPP and warned of vague “extremist” attempts to “destroy the election.”
The tone matches Hun Sen’s animosity against opponents and pre-emptive strikes since May, including dismissing the CPP’s only major rival, the Candlelight Party, on a procedural technicality.
For inciting Cambodians to destroy their votes, authorities also barred self-exiled opposition frontman Sam Rainsy and 16 associates from voting or contesting elections for two decades.
On Sunday, several did just that, publishing photographs of spoiled ballots on social media, some with writing disparaging Hun Sen and labelling him a coward. Authorities were investigating, according to pro-government Freshnews, but other media said one individual was jailed for taking a ballot home.
Hun Sen voted just outside the capital, kissing his ballot paper and posing for the cameras with an ink-stained finger.
His CPP’s selling point has been rural development and restoring peace and stability after decades of war, which has contributed to an average growth rate of more than 7% through 2019, producing jobs in garment manufacturing and construction.
“I don’t really need anything more from the new leader,” 58-year-old voter Nin Sinath remarked of Hun Sen’s succession. “I already have what I want; we have peace and prosperity for the people.”
Source: Reuters