Cambodia’s ruling party has unsurprisingly claimed victory in yesterday’s Senate elections, claiming to have won an overwhelming majority of the seats in the upper house. “The CPP won at least 50 of the 58 Senate seats up for grabs, or more than 80 percent of the total votes,” Sok Eysan, a spokesperson for the Cambodian … Read more
On Sunday, Cambodia will vote to elect a new Senate – and among those putting themselves forward for a seat is none other than former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who handed the reins of power to his son last year after nearly four decades in office. Hun Sen has previously announced that he will stand … Read more
Podcasts | Politics | Southeast Asia A conversation with Gordon Conochie. Advertisement Scottish-born Gordon Conochie, an adjunct research fellow at La Trobe University in Melbourne, has just released his book, “A Tiger Rules the Mountain: Cambodia’s Pursuit of Democracy,” an honest look at the elections that the Southeast Asian nation has held over the last two decades. He examines … Read more
Advertisement In 2013, the Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha gave a speech in Melbourne, Australia, to a crowd that included members of the Cambodian-Australian diaspora. It was also broadcast on YouTube by the Australia-based Cambodian Broadcasting Network. While Cambodia under Prime Minister Hun Sen is now far from a democracy, Cambodia’s 1993 Constitution guarantees Cambodians … Read more
A photo of a spoiled election ballot, allegedly taken by a Cambodian voter and posted on the Facebook page of exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy on July 23, 2023. The words next to the check box in the top right read, “Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha.” Credit: Facebook/Sam Rainsy Advertisement In the wake of Prime … Read more
Advertisement Among observers at Cambodia’s national election on Sunday was former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who billed his trip as having the dual purpose of election observing and attending an “International Leadership Conference on Democracy, Peace, and Development.” Cambodia’s 2023 election replicated that of 2018 in lacking a recognized opposition party, with opponents of Prime … Read more
Advertisement Prime Minister Hun Sen has extended his absolute authority over Cambodia, trouncing a feeble opposition in Sunday’s general election and paving the way for a transfer of power to his eldest son Hun Manet within a month. The one-sided election, derided by Western countries and dismissed as a sham by pro-democracy activists, enabled the … Read more
Advertisement The United States announced today that it will suspend some foreign assistance programs in Cambodia and impose visa bans on individuals it says undermined democracy in the country, after Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party romped to its expected lopsided victory at yesterday’s national election. After polls closed yesterday, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) … Read more
Advertisement The ruling party of Cambodia’s longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen claimed a landslide victory in Sunday’s general election, an outcome that was virtually assured thanks to the suppression and intimidation of the opposition in a vote critics said made a farce of democracy. Six hours after polls closed, the National Election Committee said 84.6 … Read more
Advertisement Cambodia’s Hun Sen has been his country’s autocratic prime minister for nearly four decades, during which the opposition has been stifled and the country has grown increasingly close to China. With his Cambodian People’s Party virtually guaranteed another landslide victory in this Sunday’s election, it’s hard to imagine dramatic change on the horizon. But … Read more