PHNOM: The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) declared a landslide victory in a one-sided election on Sunday, clearing the path for a historic leadership transition and the end of the reign of one of the world’s longest-serving premiers.
The contest was effectively a one-horse race, with PM Hun Sen’s CPP, a political behemoth with a vast war chest, facing no viable opponent after years-long crackdown that has seen hundreds of its rivals flee into exile.
The CPP was leading in ballot counting late on Sunday, with a turnout of 84 per cent, according to the election committee, with 8.1 million people voting in a lopsided contest. Self-styled strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 38 years, had brushed off Western concern about the poll’s credibility, determined to prevent any obstacle in his calibrated transition to his anointed successor and eldest son Hun Manet.