Hun Sen set for landslide win
Cambodians vote in election with main opposition silenced
PHNOM PENH: Polls closed in Cambodia’s election as the ruling party predicted a landslide victory for veteran strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen after the main opposition party was dissolved.
Hun Sen, who came to power in 1985 in a country still plagued by civil war, has cracked down on dissent in the run-up to the poll, pressuring civil society, independent media and his political opponents.
The 65-year-old has pointed to stability and growth as the fruits of his rule – a message that resonates with his base.
“Prime Minister Hun Sen is the saviour of the country,” said voter Sim Chantha.
“I voted for him and the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).”
Ruling party spokesman Sok Eysan forecast a huge victory and said people “flocked to vote”.
A bell was struck at one polling station in Phnom Penh to signal the end of balloting.
But there was also despondency and indifference to the predictable poll, with many closely watching the turnout for signs of a snub to the premier.
“I did not go to vote. I slept at home,” said Khem Chan Vannak, a former commune chief elected with the now-banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
“A lot of my friends did not go to vote.”
Western governments have with- drawn their assistance from the election, citing its lack of credibility, with rights groups and the opposition describing it as a knockout blow to the democratic process.
Nineteen small parties are competing against Hun Sen’s ruling CPP in the absence of the CNRP.
A National Election Commission spokesman said two hours before polls closed that turnout was more than 70% , just surpassing the final figure in 2013 of roughly 69%.
The opposition, whose leaders are in jail, underground or in self-exile, urged a “clean-finger” boycott of the vote as the only safe form of protest.