Cambodian officials voted in Senate elections on Sunday, setting the stage for former leader Hun Sen to officially return to politics after he stepped down as prime minister last 12 months.
After nearly 4 a long time of hardline rule, Hun Sen handed power to his eldest son Hun Manet in nationwide polls held last August without significant opposition.
Hun Sen then made it clear that he still intended to exert influence despite his resignation.
On Sunday morning, the 71-year-old lawmaker and ruling party leader solid his ballot near his home in the town of Takhmao to run for a seat within the Senate, the country’s upper house.
Hun Sen has said he intends to grow to be Senate president, which can enable him to function head of state when the king is abroad.
Councilor Chhim Vanarith, who votes at the identical polling station, welcomed the move.
“If he leads the Senate, of course our country will continue to be developed and peaceful,” he said.
Four political parties are participating, including Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the royalist Funcinpec Party and two small opposition parties.
Out of the 62-person Senate, 125 parliamentarians and over 11,000 voters will determine for 58 seats. local government officials. King Norodom Sihamoni will appoint two senators and the National Assembly will appoint two more.
Most eligible voters are CPP members who swept the Senate within the last election, making Hun Sen’s victory all but certain.
“This is an indication of further consolidation of power of the Hun family,” said Sebastian Strangio, writer of the book Hun Sen’s Cambodia.
“It is better to ensure that the position does not fall into the hands of a potential rival.”
Becoming Senate president will protect his son and forestall him from undermining control of the family, Strangio added.
The National Electoral Commission is anticipated to publish the official leads to just a few weeks.
However, voters within the capital Phnom Penh seemed serious about Hun Sen returning to power.
“He has a lot of experience, so if he leads the Senate, our country will be prosperous,” said the mayor of Oeu Siphon commune.
The election got here after lawmakers approved Hun Sen’s youngest son, Hun Many, as deputy prime minister.
The government now includes lots of Hun Sen’s relatives, and a number of other of his allies’ children also hold top positions.
After coming to power in 1985, Hun Sen helped modernize a rustic devastated by civil war and genocide. But critics say his rule was also marked by environmental destruction, entrenched corruption and the elimination of just about all political rivals.
The United States, the United Nations and the European Union previously condemned the polls conducted last August as neither free nor fair.
Hun Sen rejected the allegations and said his transfer of power – a dynastic succession compared by some observers to North Korea – would ensure peace and avoid “bloodshed” if he died in office.
He also warned that within the event of a serious threat to Manet’s life, he would return to the position of prime minister.
