Longtime Cambodian leader Hun Sen has announced that he will step down as prime minister in three weeks and hand over the position to his eldest son, Hun Manet. This decision comes after the Cambodian People’s Party, led by Hun Sen, won a landslide victory in the recent election, which was criticized as neither free nor fair by Western countries and rights organizations. The main opposition party was suppressed during the election.
Hun Sen has been the autocratic leader of Cambodia for 38 years but had previously stated that he would pass on the position to his son during the next five-year term. Hun Manet, who is currently the chief of the country’s army, won his first seat in Parliament in Sunday’s election. This transition of power was approved by King Norodom Sihamoni.
Hun Sen’s son will officially become prime minister once the National Election Committee reports the final results of the election, in which the Cambodian People’s Party won 120 of 125 seats. Hun Sen also mentioned that a new generation would take on many top ministerial positions in the new government, which is set to be formed on August 22. Although he is stepping down as prime minister, it is widely expected that Hun Sen will remain involved in running Cambodia and he will also become the president of the country’s Senate.
In 2013, the CPP faced a significant challenge from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, but they managed to stay in power. Hun Sen responded to this challenge by targeting opposition leaders, resulting in the dissolution of the party by the sympathetic courts.
Before defecting to Vietnam, Hun Sen was a middle-ranking commander in the radical communist Khmer Rouge, known for genocide in the 1970s. After the Khmer Rouge was removed from power in 1979, he became a senior member of the new Cambodian government installed by Vietnam. Hun Sen is known for his political prowess, and he has maintained power as an autocrat within a nominally democratic framework.
Hun Manet, on the other hand, has an impressive educational background, with a graduate degree from the US Military Academy West Point, a master’s degree from New York University, and a doctorate from the UK’s Bristol University. Despite his Western education, observers do not predict any immediate policy shifts after his father’s alignment with China in recent years.
Overall, this transition of power in Cambodia marks a significant moment in the country’s political landscape, with the aging leader Hun Sen passing the torch to his son in a system criticized for its lack of democratic processes.
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