PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodian leader Hun Sen’s eldest son and chosen successor hailed “victory day” in a final rambunctious rally yesterday, ahead of one-sided elections that his father’s ruling party is guaranteed to win.
A crowd of tens of thousands of supporters on motorbikes, dressed in bright blue, gathered under grey skies in the early morning to hear Hun Manet’s speech before he roared off in a huge celebratory motorcade parade around the capital Phnom Penh.
It was the final rally before tomorrow’s election, which has seen all meaningful opposition either disqualified or exiled, leaving voters no choice but to hand Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) a majority in the 125-member Parliament.
“Today is a victory day for us,” Hun Manet said under a giant poster of his father, urging supporters to vote for the ruling party.
“Only the CPP has the ability to lead Cambodia.”
“We will promote the national pride of our nation to the heights of the Angkor era,” he said as rain began falling on the crowd, invoking the heyday of the Khmer empire, a dominant force in Southeast Asia from the ninth to the 14th Century.
The Candlelight Party, the CPP’s only credible rival, was barred from running over registration technicalities, a ruling that Amnesty International said yesterday “amounted to a politically motivated decision”.
“When the Candlelight Party cannot participate in the election, it is not going to be free and fair,” party vice-president Rong Chhun told AFP.
Without the Candlelight Party, voters had no choice but to back Hun Sen’s ruling party, he said.
“Our hope for a real democracy is fading away,” opposition supporter Vanna told AFP at a cafe.
He declined to give his full name, one of many ordinary citizens who are increasingly nervous about criticising the government.
“I think it is another very unfair election.”
The CPP’s campaigning – and the tiny presence of small, poorly funded opposition parties – was a weak smokescreen allowing Hun Sen to claim the election was legitimate, said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch.
“When in reality he’s done everything possible to make sure he faces no real opposition whatsoever,” Robertson said.
Critics say Hun Sen’s 38-year rule has been shadowed by environmental destruction, entrenched corruption and uneven economic growth – with the country now a byword for the global online scamming industry.
