PHNOM PENH
Cambodia’s ruling party said on Monday it had won the majority of parliamentary seats in a weekend election, as critics including the United States slammed the poll as “neither free nor fair”. The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which ran virtually unopposed, said it won 120 out of 125 seats, cementing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s grip on the country’s political landscape ahead of a possible transition of power to his son Hun Manet. “We didn’t just win the election but we won it in a landslide,” said CPP spokesperson Sok Eysan.
“We have no option but to continue to serve the people with happiness.”
The National Election Committee website on Monday showed it was still in the process of counting ballots, but did not comment on the results.
Hun Sen, 70, has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, with an increasingly heavy hand in recent years that has all but wiped out the opposition.
In the run-up to the election, the only meaningful opposition the Candlelight Party was disqualified from the race on a technicality, and anyone boycotting the poll was threatened with penalties.
Last week, Hun Sen signalled that Western-educated military general Hun Manet “could be” prime minister by next month.
Hun Manet, who ran for office for the first time, won a seat representing Phnom Penh in the national assembly, according to the CPP.
