Cambodia’s ruling party claims victory in election condemned as ‘neither free nor fair’
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) said on Monday it had won all 125 parliamentary seats up for grabs in a general election a day earlier that critics said was neither free nor fair.
Cambodia woke to another chapter of rule by strongman Hun Sen a day after an election that was heavily criticized by rights groups, the United States and other Western countries, Reuters reported.
“The CPP won 77.5 percent of the votes and won all the parliamentary seats,” CPP spokesman Sok Eysan told Reuters by telephone. “The other parties won no seats.”
The White House said it would consider steps, including an expansion of visa restrictions placed on some Cambodian government members, in response to “flawed elections” in which there was no significant challenger to Hun Sen.
Critics say the election was a backward step for democracy in Cambodia following the dissolution last year of the main opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) and the jailing of its leader, Kem Sokha, on treason charges.
Former CNRP president Sam Rainsy, who lives in exile, said the election was a “hollow” victory for Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who has ruled Cambodia for nearly 33 years.
The US has imposed visa curbs on some Cambodian government members over a crackdown on critics and levied sanctions in June on a highranking official close to Hun Sen.
The European Union has threatened Cambodia with economic sanctions.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Sunday’s vote “failed to represent the will of the Cambodian people.”
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the White House statement was an attempt to intimidate Cambodia.
“This is against the Cambodians who went to vote to decide their own fate,” Phay Siphan told Reuters.
Even as the West criticized the process, Hun Sen still has one important ally, China, which offered warm congratulations for a smooth election.
“I believe that the Cambodian Parliament election is an internal matter for Cambodia,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing in Beijing on Monday.
“We hope that the international community can provide constructive help for Cambodia to remain stable and achieve development.”
CNRP Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Monovithya Kem told a news conference in Jakarta on Monday the party welcomed the White House statement and hoped others would follow suit. The main opposition also called on the international community to reject the result of the election.