By Prak Chan Thul
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Thousands waved flags at rallies and others joined motorcycle convoys in support of Cambodia’s ruling party on Friday, the last day of campaigning before a one-sided election set to extend Prime Minister Hun Sen’s four-decade grip on power.
The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is running virtually unopposed in Sunday’s election after the only significant rival was disqualified on a technicality over a registration document.
The election will see the political debut of Hun Sen’s anointed successor, Hun Manet, his U.S. and British-educated son, who is one of Cambodia’s top generals. It is unclear when the transfer of power will take place.
Hun Manet expressed confidence in a landslide victory for the CPP, which he said was the only party capable of governing and had the full backing of the public.
“They have committed to voting for the Cambodian People’s Party to ensure a bright and prosperous future of the nation for the next generation,” a smiling Hun Manet told a cheering crowd.
Dressed in the blue and white party colours, the crowd chanted the names of father and son while they moved slowly in a convoy, as people watched from balconies waving white CPP flags.
Human rights groups have dismissed the election as a sham and accuse Hun Sen, who turns 71 next month, of controlling the media, threatening critics and systematically dismantling his opposition using trumped-up criminal charges.
His government denies that. It says the 17 other parties contesting is proof the election is a fair competition. However, none of those won a parliamentary seat in the last election in 2018.
“There’s zero credibility for this election,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
“There is an effort by Hun Sen to intimidate everyone he can, to enforce a degree of silence from both the people and the opposition political parties to try to make it look like this is democracy.”
Hun Manet has stayed away from the international media spotlight and it is unclear what kind of leader he might be.
He studied in New York and in a 2003 interview said he appreciated some aspects of American culture, including freedom and tolerance for diversity.
Addressing supporters on Friday, he spoke of how the CPP had maintained peace and stability after decades of war and said an unspecified group of evil “extremists” was trying to “destroy this election”, in rhetoric similar to that of his father.
“Only the Cambodian People’s Party can lead the country towards happiness for all people,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Juarawee Kittisilpa in Bangkok; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
