Cambodia National Assembly
Cambodia’s parliament enacted a new law on Friday that prohibits anyone who does not vote in the forthcoming national poll from running for office in future elections, including exiled competitors.
The kingdom will hold a general election next month with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party running practically unopposed after the main opposition party was prevented from standing on a technicality.
Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, is accused by rights groups of manipulating the judicial system to suppress any opposition to his power.
On Friday, Parliament voted overwhelmingly to pass the law, with each seat held by a member of Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party.
Interior Minister Sar Kheng said, “Anyone who does not vote without an appropriate reason… will lose the right to run for office in four consecutive elections”.
He did not go into detail about what constituted an ‘appropriate reason’.
Candidates would be barred from running in senate elections in 2024, municipal elections in 2024, commune elections in 2027, and a general election in 2028 under the law.
The measure will have a significant impact on the numerous major opposition figures who have fled the country to avoid politically driven sentences.
Cambodia has national elections every five years, and there is no law enabling foreign nationals to vote.
Hun Sen claimed he was forced to adopt the modification in response to opposition activists’ request for an election boycott after the main opposition Candlelight Party was barred from running in the July polls.
The National Election Committee prohibited the party after it failed to submit the necessary paperwork as part of the registration process.
Hun Sen, who is already one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, wants to extend his reign before handing over the power to his son Hun Manet.
During his presidency, dozens of opposition politicians were convicted.
In March, opposition leader Kem Sokha was sentenced to 27 years in prison and placed under house arrest for treason in connection with an alleged plot with foreigners to destabilize Hun Sen’s government.
Sam Rainsy, another opposition figure, has been living in exile in France since 2015 in order to avoid prison for convictions he claims are politically motivated.
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