The biggest opposition party in Cambodia, the Candlelight Party, has been prohibited from running in the July elections by the election commission, which will essentially give the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) an uncontested race.
According to the commission, the party did not provide “proper registration documents.”
In spite of the fact that other parties registered to run in the general election, Candlelight was by far the most formidable opponent of the CPP and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s long-standing hold on power.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Kasit Piromya, a former Thai foreign minister and board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said that the Hun Sen administration has once again demonstrated its complete disregard for democratic norms and its unwillingness to participate in free and fair elections.
“The Cambodian government must stop all efforts to stifle its opponents and ensure a space for all parties to participate if it wants the world to take the results of the July election seriously.”
The move against the Candlelight Party echoes the ban on the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) ahead of the last election in 2018, which allowed the CPP to win every seat in parliament. The Candlelight Party was previously the Sam Rainsy Party and joined forces with the Human Rights Party to form the CNRP in 2012.
