The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which governs the Southeast Asian country, said it won Sunday’s (23rd) elections in an election with no real opposition.
Reelected Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power for 38 years and is one of the longestserving leaders in the world, is expected to move ahead with plans for the handover to his son Hun Manet.
According to electoral authorities, 8.1 million people, or 84% of the country’s electorate, turned out to vote, the highest turnout since the 1990s. The CPP led the poll in a race against 17 unknown parties.
“We won by washing […] but we can’t calculate the number of seats yet [no Parlamento]”said Sok Eysan, spokesman for the CPP.
Hun Sen, 70, was a Khmer Rouge guerrilla but broke with the communist group and went into exile in Vietnam after seizing power in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 the Khmer Rouge dictatorship committed genocide that killed more than 1.5 million people.
After returning to Cambodia, Hun Sen held senior government posts and became Prime Minister in 1985. Since then he has ruled the country with an iron fist, and political repression has forced hundreds of his opponents to flee the country.
Last Thursday (20) Hun Sen announced that his son Hun Manet could become prime minister next month. He won a seat in the National Assembly in Sunday’s elections and could become the next ruler if he wins support from the House of Representatives.
China, Midland
Hun Manet, 45, is a general educated in the US and UK. He speaks little to the press and gives few hints about his vision for the future of Cambodia and its 16 million people.