Local polls a test of Hun Sen’s popularity

PHNOM PENH: Millions of Cambodians voted in local polls yesterday, testing the political temperature of a country rife with tension between its strongman premier and an embattled opposition determined to end his three-decade rule.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest serving leaders, has run Cambodia for 32 years.

Supporters see Hun Sen, 64, as a beacon of stability, while detractors accuse him and a coterie of allies of huge self-enrichment, corruption and autocracy.

Yesterday’s vote in more than 1,600 communes is viewed as a warm-up for next year’s national elections.

But, the opposition has been hammered by a crackdown in recent months, with critics jailed and the main political rival to Hun Sen fleeing overseas to escape charges.

“I voted for a change. I want to try new leaders,” Tara, 30, a garment factory worker, said after casting her vote for opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) at a polling booth here.

“I want the country to be more progressive. I want mutual respect for human rights.”

Hun Sen cast his ballot shortly after polls opened at 7am in Takhmao, a town on the outskirts here, where he has a residence and a nearby bodyguard unit stationed.

He declined to speak to media, but appeared relaxed, smiling and waving to voters as he passed.

Many supporters cited Hun Sen’s oft-repeated mantra of stability as they backed his Cambodian People’s Party.

“I voted for his party because he has done many good things for the country,” Rath Chy, 68, said.

“I need peace, stability and development.”

The last time Cambodians went to the polls (national elections in 2013), CNRP made huge gains, spurred in part by a significant appetite for change among young voters.

The opposition had said it only lost that vote because of widespread fraud, something the government denies. AFP