- Written by Jonathan Head, Lulu Luo, Francis Mao
- BBC News in Phnom Penh and Singapore
Voting is underway in Cambodia, making it virtually certain that the country’s long-time leader will extend his party’s rule in an election without a viable challenger.
People gathered at a polling station in Phnom Penh told the BBC they expected the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to once again win all 125 seats in parliament.
Hun Sen, who has been in power for 38 years, has faced no major challenges since the only credible opposition party was disqualified in May.
Critics have called the vote a sham.
“It’s a fraudulent election because there is no really strong opposition,” one voter, an aid worker in Phnom Penh, told the BBC earlier this week.
Western countries, including the United States, have also expressed concerns about the integrity of the vote. In order to ensure the highest possible turnout in the absence of people having any real choice, the government criminalized any attempt to boycott elections or deface ballots.
Opposition members have reported violent attacks this year, and Human Rights Watch reported that the government has increased intimidation and arbitrary arrests of political opponents in the run-up to the vote.
In May, the government banned the country’s main opposition party, the Candlelight Party, from participating, citing technicalities. The Central Election Commission said the party was missing documents that were not needed for last year’s local elections.
Candlelight won 22% of the vote in last year’s local elections, and analysts say Hun Sen views him as a potential threat to his rule.
But the poll is the clearest indication yet that Mr Hun Sen, who voted in the capital early on Sunday, probably plans to hand over power to his eldest son Hun Manet within weeks. It was held in the middle of the day. The military chief has been leading the CPP’s election campaign together with his father.
Political analysts say Mr Hun Sen’s rule is becoming increasingly authoritarian.
Analysts say this is the second consecutive election in which Mr. Hun Sen has targeted democratic institutions and crippled opposition forces ahead of voting day.
There are 17 other parties participating in this year’s elections, but almost all are too small, new or aligned with the ruling party to be considered credible challengers.
The vote came at a time of uncertainty for the Cambodian economy. Local residents report suffering from high fuel prices, stagnant wages and mounting debt.
Hun Sen is seeking re-election, but has indicated that this may be his last term. He said that in 2021 he would hand over command to his eldest son, who currently commands the Royal Cambodian Army.
Khan Manet is a parliamentary candidate for the first time in this election and led the final day of the party’s rally in Phnom Penh on Friday.
No deadline was given for a transition until Thursday, with Prime Minister Hun Sen suggesting his son “could become” prime minister within three to four weeks.
Mr Hun Sen’s party has won all six national elections held every five years since the 1990s, when the Southeast Asian country of 16 million was plunged into a state of conflict and brutality. The United Nations provided support for the country to become a functioning democracy after the Khmer Rouge regime.
For more than 40 years, he has consolidated his power through control of the military, police and moneymakers. Observers say he has co-opted, imprisoned, and exiled his opponents.