(Phnom Penh) In a dusty street in Phnom Penh, a few activists perched on white tuk-tuks, equipped with megaphones and banners, try to attract votes for their opposition party, one of the few running in an election that seems to be a foregone conclusion in Cambodia.
On July 23, the country will renew its 125 deputies and the very slim chances for the very confidential Field Democratic Party (GDP), while the outgoing Assembly is totally committed to the regime, and the ballot is seen as a sham of democracy. by observers.
Prime Minister Hun Sen rules the country with an iron fist and is accused of rolling back freedoms and using the justice system to muzzle his opponents.
“We are on a mission to restore democracy,” said PDG Chairman Yeng Virak.
In the last national poll in 2018, Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won all the seats after a court dissolved the main opposition party.
This time it was the Candle Party, Hun Sen’s only credible rival, that was kicked out of the race for failing to register properly with the election commission.
For the 17 parties still in the running, it is difficult to compete with the CPP, capable of bringing together tens of thousands of supporters equipped with free t-shirts and caps.
A one-sided election
The PDG campaign is modest: motorbike parades, social media posts and old-fashioned leaflets.
“We just want to do our best to reach people,” says Yeng Virak.
But since last year the party has lost several of its leaders to the CPP, including the former prime minister candidate who joined the government.
Some voices believe that Hun Sen would be ready to let a few seats escape him in parliament in order to create a semblance of plurality.
“But that wouldn’t fool anyone, Cambodia would still be a one-party state,” said Sam Rainsy, an opposition figure in exile in France.
A very popular trade unionist and star rookie of the Candle Party last February, Rong Chhun, 54, dreamed of finally facing Hun Sen at the polls.
It would have been the fight of his life, he who had two stays in prison. He is one of the pet peeves of the prime minister who has ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for 38 years.
“Am I afraid of him (Hun Sen)? He’s a Khmer and so am I. There is no reason for me to be afraid of a Khmer citizen,” Rong Chhun said.
Observing the campaign from the sidelines, Rong Chhun cannot even call for a boycott of the election, because Hun Sen has just made it a crime.
“When I walk around Phnom Penh, I have to be very careful. The thugs can use metal bars, sticks or stones to attack us,” which happened to eight members of the Candle Party.
Towards a dynastic regime
More than 30 years after the peace accord that ended decades of violence by the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia’s democracy is on the decline, experts say.
Hun Sen, at the helm of the kingdom for 38 years, has named his son Hun Manet as his successor, without giving a date.
“Cambodia looks more like North Korea than a real democracy,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Opposition leader Kem Sokha was sentenced in March to 27 years house arrest for treason and dozens of others were sentenced in a mass trial on other counts. charge, including incitement and conspiracy.
The international community refrains from criticizing Hun Sen too openly for fear that it will push him even further into China’s arms, says Hervé Lemahieu, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Lowy Institute think tank.
The party in power denies any conspiracy against the opposition and assumes the authoritarian style of the regime.
“Negative criticism of our leaders does not reach us. As the saying goes, ‘The dogs bark, the caravan passes’,” CPP spokesman Sok Eysan told AFP.
Back in the field, some voters seem tired of the limited choice on offer.
“I’m not going to vote,” a tuk tuk driver told AFP.
“Hun Sen boxing alone in the ring”.