PHNOM PENH: Cambodia yesterday officially started campaigning for next month’s general election, expected to be won by strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen who is seeking to extend his 28-year grip on the country.
Thousands of supporters from several political parties took to Phnom Penh’s streets in colourful rival rallies, as cars and motorcycles adorned with banners roared through the capital.
The rallies, held one month ahead of July 28 polls, mark the official start of election season in the kingdom.
While all political parties are free to canvass voters and hold public events, observers say there is little chance of unseating the incumbent Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which won the last two polls by a landslide despite allegations of fraud and election irregularities.
Hun Sen and other CPP leaders marked the start of campaigning by receiving a blessing from the country’s top Buddhist monks in front of tens of thousands of supporters.
“Making a right decision will bring more success, but a wrong decision will be a setback and a huge danger for the nation,” Heng Samrin, CPP honorary president, told the rally.
A CPP victory will prevent the return of a genocidal regime similar to the Khmer Rouge of the late 1970s, he added, alluding to allegations by his party that the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) would lurch the nation towards conflict.
Hun Sen has run Cambodia for 28 years, making him Southeast Asia’s longest-serving leader beside the sultan of Brunei.
His government is regularly accused of suppressing political freedoms and muzzling activists. But he has also steered the impoverished country from the ashes of civil war and overseen a growing economy through development, tourism, and garment exports.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, his main challenger, is barred from running in the polls due to a string of convictions that the opposition says are politically motivated.
There are eight parties competing for 123 parliamentary seats in the July 28 poll. AFP
