The European Union on Tuesday pulled support for Cambodia’s election authority, questioning the legitimacy of upcoming polls after the dissolution of the opposition transformed the kingdom into a virtual one-party state under strongman Hun Sen.
A Supreme Court ruling last month dissolved the main opposition to the incumbent Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), an act the EU described in a statement as arbitrary and which “cannot be seen as legitimate”.
The EU decried a “series of actions” against the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which won almost 45 percent of the vote in the 2013 national elections and nearly the same proportion in this year’s local polls.
Its electoral success posed a threat to the 32-year rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who wants to hold elections mid next year despite outcry over his assault on Cambodia’s fragile democracy.
EU Pulls Support For Cambodia Poll After Opposition Dissolved
