Cambodian elections
Meng Heang TAK (Clarinda) (10:10): Cambodia’s main opposition party and the only credible challenge to the country’s long-time leader Hun Sen has been barred from contesting Cambodia’s July election. Electoral authorities disqualified the Candlelight Party on Monday for not having the correct paperwork. Party officials had warned for weeks that registration was being obstructed by red tape. It should not come as any surprise. As reported by Human Rights Watch, in the past few weeks a number of opposition party members have been assaulted in Phnom Penh while others were convicted on politically motivated election forgery charges. This is history repeating. In 2018 the Cambodian People’s Party won every single seat in the 125-seat National Assembly after the main opposition alliance was dissolved by the politically controlled court and the leader Kem Sokha was sentenced to 27 years in jail. The Candlelight Party formed from that dissolved opposition party and again represented the only credible challenge to Hun Sen. Once again Hun Sen has eliminated any real challenge in yet another election. I call on the Australian Embassy and the Australian government to condemn this action in the strongest possible terms and continue to push for a return to a pluralist democracy, as enshrined in the Cambodian constitution. This is a dark day for Cambodians both in country and here in Australia.