Court orders opposition to be dissolved, leaving PM in power for years to come

CAMBODIA’S SUPREME Court has ordered the main opposition party to be dissolved – a crushing blow to democratic aspirations in the south-east Asian state.

The decision clears the way for the nation’s authoritarian leader to remain in power for years to come.

The verdict, which was widely expected, comes amid a growing push by the administration of prime minister Hun Sen to neutralise political opponents and silence critics ahead of elections due in July 2018.

Chief Judge Dith Munty, who is a senior ruling party member, announced the nine-member court’s unanimous ruling.

He said 118 opposition party members would also be banned from politics for the next five years.

The government accuses the Cambodia National Rescue Party of plotting a coup and has called for weeks.

The opposition staunchly denies the allegations and says they are politically motivated – a position backed by international rights groups and independent analysts who say no credible evidence has emerged to its dissolution for back the claims. The party had been expected to pose a serious challenge 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.

Hun Sen has been in office since 1985 and has held a tight grip on power since ousting a coprime minister in a bloody 1997 coup.

Although Cambodia is nominally a democratic state, its institutions remain fragile and the rule of law weak.

The judiciary is not seen as independent.

Before yesterday’s ruling, Hun Sen had encouraged opposition lawmakers to defect to his ruling party.

A US State Department report says “forces under Hun Sen and the Cambodian People’s Party have committed frequent and large-scale abuses”.