Court orders main opposition party dissolved
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s Supreme Court ordered the country’s main opposition party to be dissolved on Thursday, dealing one of the most crushing blows yet to democratic aspirations in the increasingly oppressive Southeast Asian state.
The decision means authoritarian leader Hun Sen, who has held power for more than three decades, will face no serious challengers in elections due in July — a scenario likely to cement his rule for years to come.
The verdict was widely expected and came amid an intense push by Hun Sen’s government to neutralize political opponents and silence critics ahead of the polls.
The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party issued a statement saying it would not recognize the ruling and would maintain its leadership structure. It said the verdict was politically motivated and deprived millions of their supporters of their right to be represented.
Chief Judge Dith Munty, a senior ruling party member, announced the nine-member court’s unanimous ruling in the capital, Phnom Penh.
He said 118 opposition party members also would be banned from politics for the next five years, and the verdict could not be appealed.
The government accuses the CNRP of plotting a coup and has called for its dissolution for weeks. The opposition staunchly denies the allegations — a position backed by international rights groups and independent analysts who say no credible evidence has emerged to back the claims.
The party had been expected to be a serious contender in next year’s polls. During the last vote in 2013, it scored major gains in a tense race that saw Hun Sen narrowly retain office.
Since then, the opposition’s fortunes have ebbed dramatically.
Sam Rainsy, who led the party during that vote, went into exile in 2016 and faces a jail term for a criminal defamation conviction if he returns. The party’s current leader, Kem Sokha, has been imprisoned since September, charged with treason.
Amid deepening fears over the nation’s fate, more than 20 opposition lawmakers — about half of those with seats in Parliament — also have fled the country.
Mu Sochua, an opposition party vice president among those who have left, said the struggle for democracy was not over in Cambodia.
Speaking in London just before the verdict, she said there were no plans to launch demonstrations immediately.
“But in the heart, in our hearts, in our minds, in our spirits, in our souls, the fight for democracy will continue. It will not die.”