Opposition leader expects court to dissolve CNRP

PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian opposition leader said yesterday that he expects his political party to be dissolved in a Supreme Court ruling this week, a move that would further descend the nation into authoritarianism ahead of next year’s general election.

Since Cambodia’s court system is not seen as independent of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) is assured when the court makes its ruling today, said Son Chhay, whip of the party, the only opposition group to hold seats in parliament.

“We have no hope that the Supreme Court’s verdict will be different to what Prime Minister Hun Sen wants,” he said. “Therefore, my party is likely to be dissolved.”

The government in late October formally accused the CNRP of involvement in a plot to topple the government and asked the court to dissolve it. The government has claimed it has more than “20 pieces of concrete evidence” that prove the party was seeking to topple the government through a popular uprising. CNRP officials say the charges are politically motivated.

The move is seen as the latest attempt by Hun Sen to remove threats to his power ahead of next July’s general election, the first national polls since 2013, when he narrowly retained office after the opposition made unexpectedly strong gains.

In his 32 years in power, Hun Sen has mastered how to sideline political opponents. In 1997, he ousted a co-prime minister in a bloody coup. In recent years, he’s used Cambodia’s pliant judicial system.

To avoid international reprisals, Hun Sen often has struck last-minute political compromises. He allowed former opposition leader Sam Rainsy to contest the 2013 polls. Sam Rainsy now lives in exile and is facing a jail term for a criminal defamation conviction if he returns.

So far, Hun Sen has shown no sign of backing down and in fact appears to be mounting his biggest assault on Cambodian democracy since the coup.

Sam Rainsy resigned from the CNRP in February after Hun Sen vowed to change the laws on political party leadership to keep convicts out of leadership positions. Sam Rainsy said yesterday in a Facebook post that he was returning to the party, and said the CNRP would remain in the hearts of Cambodians even it were dissolved.

Current CNRP leader Kem Sokha was charged last month with treason for allegedly working with the United States to topple Hun Sen.