Parties campaign on final day before Cambodia vote

Cambodians began a last day of electoral campaigning yesterday ahead of a general election at the weekend that will likely hand victory to Prime Minister Hun Sen and extend his 33-year rule.Tomorrow’s general election will be Cambodia’s sixth since it emerged from decades of war in 1993, but many fear the vote will be a sham following a crackdown on critics by Hun Sen.Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in November over allegations it was involved in a plot to topple the government, banning many lawmakers from politics for five years.The party denies the accusation. Most CNRP leaders have since fled abroad.Hun Sen and his allies have also launched a crackdown against civil society and independent media.His Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) says it is confident it will win.“Why will we win? Because there is already more than 50% support from the population for the CPP,” government spokesman and CPP senior member Phay Siphan said.Some voters told Reuters they were being coerced into voting for Hun Sen’s CPP, a claim the party denies.In Phnom Penh, campaigning has been dominated by the CPP and its large rallies. The party’s blue flags, often held by supporters who zip through the capital’s streets on motorbikes, and the CPP has left little room for the 19 smaller parties that are also competing.Experts say those parties are no challenge for the CPP.“I think there won’t be any change, it will be Samdech again,” said 19-year old Sum Davin, a student, referring to Hun Sen’s official title.“People have only heard of one party and nobody knows the other parties,” he said, adding that he will vote in tomorrow despite calls by exiled members of the opposition to boycott the election.Five former CNRP members were each fined $2,500 this week by Cambodia’s electoral body over the boycott appeal.Sebastian Strangio, author of the book Hun Sen’s Cambodia, said condemnation from some Western governments would have little impact on Hun Sen, who has support from countries in the region including China.The United States has imposed visa restrictions on some Cambodian government members over the crackdown and imposed sanctions in June on a high-ranking official close to Hun Sen.The European Union has threatened Cambodia with economic sanctions.“With Western countries promising further sanctions, and Hun Sen unlikely to back down from his current course, Cambodia is set for a new era of turbulent relations with the West,” Strangio said.