Hun Sen supporters rally ahead of polls

Cambodian prime minister has been in power for 33 years

Tens of thousands of supporters of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen rallied in Phnom Penh on the last day of electoral campaigning yesterday ahead of a general election at the weekend that will likely hand him victory and extend his 33year rule.

Tomorrow’s election will be Cambodia’s sixth since it emerged from decades of war in 1993 and many fear the vote will be a sham following a crackdown by Hun Sen, the world’s longest-serving prime minister, on critics including civil society and independent media.

“I won’t lead the party into defeat,” Hun Sen told supporters as they waved the blue flags of his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Bands sang songs praising Hun Sen and the achievements of his party.

“Party members must vote for their own party, not for another party,” said the former Khmer Rouge commander who eventually defected from Pol Pot’s regime.

‘Flawed elections’

The election has been criticised by the United Nations and Western countries as fundamentally flawed after Cambodia’s Supreme Court last year dissolved the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) after it was accused of plotting to topple the government. Its leader, Kem Sokha, was imprisoned for treason.

The party, which had only narrowly lost the 2013 election, denied the accusation and most CNRP leaders have since fled abroad, leaving no significant competitor to Hun Sen’s party.

Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) warned that tomorrow’s vote was a foregone conclusion.

“This is a farcical ritual to rubber stamp Hun Sen’s grip on power,” APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian parliament, said in a statement.

After his early morning speech, Hun Sen led a group of young supporters on foot to other rally sites in the capital.

He told supporters that his party has led Cambodia to economic prosperity.

The country once synonymous with conflict and poverty has been the sixth fastest-growing economy in the world over the past two decades with average GDP growth of 7.6 per cent, according to the World Bank.

Charles Santiago | APHR Chairperson