JAKARTA: Prominent Cambodian opposition figure Sam Rainsy on Friday denounced the upcoming general election as a “fake and sham” after the country’s the sole opposition party was disqualified from the race this week.
The Candlelight Party was disqualified by the election commission on Monday over what the poll body said was failure to submit proper registration documents, a move critics have said threatens to undermine democracy and political freedoms in the Southeast Asian country.
July’s poll will be a “fake and sham election for the simple reason that there will be no opposition,” said Rainsy, the self-exiled former opposition leader, adding Cambodia was “in effect a one-party system”.
He was speaking at an event in the Indonesian capital on press freedom in Southeast Asia.
Rainsy urged democratic countries not to recognize the legitimacy of the Cambodian election and long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen.
A Cambodian government spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
The ruling Cambodian People’s Party said earlier this week that the election would be free and fair, adding that more than 10 other parties had registered.
The Candlelight Party is a reincarnation of the now-disbanded opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, which Rainsy co-founded. The Supreme Court dissolved that party in 2017 as part of what was derided as a wider crackdown on Hun Sen’s critics.
Cambodia opposition figure calls upcoming election a ‘sham’
https://arab.news/9rcja
Cambodia opposition figure calls upcoming election a ‘sham’
- The Candlelight Party was disqualified by the election commission on Monday
Macron vows stronger cooperation with Nigeria after mass kidnappings
- Macron wrote on X that France “will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations”
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that France will step up cooperation with Nigeria after speaking with his counterpart, as the West African country faces a surge in abductions.
Nigeria has been wracked by a wave of kidnappings in recent weeks, including the capture of over 300 school children two weeks ago that shook Africa’s most populous country, already weary from chronic violence.
Macron wrote on X that the move came at Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s request, saying France “will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations,” while urging other countries to “step up their engagement.”
“No one can remain a spectator” to what is happening in Nigeria, the French president said.
Nigeria has drawn heightened attention from Washington in recent weeks, after US President Donald Trump said in November that the United States was prepared to take military action there to counter the killing of Christians.
US officials, while not contradicting Trump, have since instead emphasized other US actions on Nigeria including security cooperation with the government and the prospect of targeted sanctions.
Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups have plagued Nigeria since the 2014 abduction of 276 school girls in the town of Chibok by Boko Haram militants.
The religiously diverse country is the scene of a number of long-brewing conflicts that have killed both Christians and Muslims, often indiscriminately.
Many scholars say the reality is more nuanced, with conflicts rooted in struggles for scarce resources rather than directly related to religion.
