The political situation in Cambodia
Cambodia held its national election on 23 July 2023 with 18 political parties registered to contest the polls. The political situation in Cambodia has also seen numerous developments in recent weeks.
First and foremost, Prime Minister (PM) Hun Sen deleted his Facebook account after Meta’s oversight board imposed a six-month ban on his account following an allegation that he incited violence in a video where he threatened to have his opponents beaten. He switched to Telegram as he believed it was more effective and doesn’t have the same hacking issues as Facebook. Not long afterwards, the Royal Government of Cambodia banned 22 named members of the Board of Directors of Meta Platforms Inc. from entering Cambodia. Among them were the former Danish leader Helle Thorning Schmidt and Nobel laureate Tawakkol Karman.
The Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director favored Meta’s board decision of suspending the PM’s Facebook account saying the “PM is finally being called out for using social media to incite violence against his opponent.” However, the government spokesperson rejected the characterization of Hun Sen’s comments as incitement and claimed that Cambodian government studies had shown Telegram was a more popular platform than Facebook. The rights groups also accused PM Hun Sen of using the legal system to crush any opposition while, according to Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the platform intends to obstruct freedom of the press for the citizens of Cambodia and the right to receive credible news from a leader whom they support and admire.
In electoral news, Cambodia’s political party campaigns officially began on 1 July and ran until 21 July 2023 when around 9.7 million eligible voters would elect 125 members of the National Assembly. The Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) held a high-profile campaign on 1 July 2023 with Prime Minister Hun Sen assuring supporters that the CPP would continue to promote a multi-party liberal democratic political system.
Moreover, the PM also laid out six priority policies including the expansion of health care coverage, vocational training and scholarships, national social assistance programs, protection for self-employed and informal workers, and a budget for maintaining agricultural product price stability and promoting productivity. Ten other parties – including the Khmer National United Party (KNUP), FUNCINPEC, the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party, and the Khmer United Party – also organized their own political campaigns but on a smaller scale compared to the CPP’s.
With the main opposition – the Candlelight Party – barred from contesting in the national election, some believed that the situation mirrors what happened before the last general election in 2018, where the popular Cambodian National Rescue Party, which had performed strongly in local elections, was dissolved months before the polls leading to the victory of the CPP for all seats in the National Assembly. Larry Seng, an opposition supporter living in the US, believed that despite other parties being registered for the election, none presented serious competition to the ruling Cambodia People’s Party. Sothoeuth Ith, the media director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM), said “the ruling party is trying to transition power to the new generation. So they want to make sure everything is under control.” In addition, even though Human Rights Watch said “It’s already clear that the national election in July will be a mockery of the democratic process”, there are those who wholeheartedly supported PM Hun Sen and his son – Hun Manet in the national election.
On election day, around 84.58% of the total 9,710,655 eligible voters turned out to vote. The preliminary election result showed that the CPP had won 120 out of 125 seats. Surprisingly, the royalist party, known as FUNCINPEC, won five of the 125 seats. FUNCINPEC had lost its credibility and popularity at the last two elections (2013 and 2018). But this time, it seemed to have gained back its grassroots support. For many analysts here in Cambodia, the comeback of FUNCINPEC is possibly due to the absence of the Candlelight Party (CP) in this election. Some of those voters who oppose the CPP voted for FUNCINPEC instead.
Now the election is over, the public is asking when will PM Hun Sen transfer power to his son, Hun Manet. This issue is a very sensitive one in Cambodia at the moment. The transition of power to the next generation remains uncertain and could face unpredictable challenges ahead.
The current political situation in Thailand
The second week of July 2023 saw major changes in Thai politics including the retirement of the current Thai Prime Minister Pravut Chan-o-Cha and the new Parliament’s vote for its prime minister.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha announced his retirement from the United Thai Nation Party and from politics on 11 July 2023, nine years after the former general seized power in a military coup. This shocking announcement came just two days before the parliamentary vote for a new Thai Prime Minister on 13 July 2023; and the major defeat of the party at the Thai National Election, capturing just 36 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
With no reason specified regarding his retirement, PM Prayuth also encouraged “the party leader, executives, and members to continue their political activities with a strong ideology of protecting the institutions, the nation, the religion, and the monarchy, and take care of the Thai people.” Prayuth will remain as prime minister until the new government is formed.
But the formation of a new government has undergone a setback as Thailand’s parliament rejected election winner Pita Limjaroenrat’s bid to become prime minister on 13 July 2023.
The leader of the Move Forward Party – Pita – was unopposed in the contest but could not muster the required support, with most abstentions and votes working against him. When voting concluded, Pita had 323 votes in favor, 182 against, and 198 abstentions. The Move Forward Party (MFP) leader needed 375 votes – a simple majority of the 749 combined House and Senate seats – to win the office. Following Pita’s loss, the House Speaker will table a second session on 19 July and if necessary, a third on 20 July.
Mr. Pita said “The result was not what we expected. We will work hard to gather support for the next vote. I will strategize again to make sure next time we get the vote needed”. Meanwhile the Thai election chiefs asked the country’s top court to suspend Pita from becoming prime minister over allegations he broke campaign rules as an MP. Some believed this defeat could be attributed to his Move Forward party’s electoral promise to amend the law that prohibits insulting the monarchy while others believed the allegation of his inheritance of shares from his father in the ITV television station was the issue. The station had not been broadcasting since 2007.
AUTHOR
Sovinda Po is a Research Assistant at the Griffith Asia Institute.
