In Cambodia, Hun Sen’s party claims a “tidal wave” in unopposed elections

“We are winning with a tidal wave.” Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party claimed Sunday, July 23, a victory in the legislative elections in Cambodia. At the end of this election, without suspense, Hun Sen, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 38 years, should hand over to his eldest son. More than 9.7 million voters were called to the polls for these seventh national elections since the Paris peace agreements in 1991, which marked the end of the Khmer Rouge era.

Voters turned out en masse with a turnout of at least 84%, according to a non-definitive figure. The high turnout shows that support for the opposition has collapsed, reacted the Prime Minister on Telegram messaging. “The Cambodian people will not let the cheat groups destroy the country”, he asserted.

A “significant lack of transparency and fairness”

In the absence of any credible opposition after the exclusion of the main movement hostile to Hun Sen, the CPP could, as in 2018, win all 125 seats in Parliament. He had then signed this success after the dissolution by a court of the main opposition party. This time it was the Candle Party, the prime minister’s only credible rival, that was expelled for not registering properly with the electoral commission, according to the latter.

The election drew criticism from a coalition of 17 international NGOs, including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), who expressed concern on Saturday about a “significant lack of transparency and fairness”. impose his son, “it’s a stab in the back of the Cambodian people”, believes Phil Robertson, of the NGO Human Rights Watch. his pranks “make Cambodia look like North Korea rather than a real democracy”, he observes. For his detractors, Hun Sen has rolled back fundamental freedoms and used the judicial system to muzzle his opponents, thrown by the dozens into prison since he came to power.