Cambodia just had a major election, but there
wasn’t much suspense involved. The outcome, as expected, was declared a win
for authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power for over 33 years. This was the 6th general election since the
UN sponsored the country’s free and fair vote in 1993, but some analysts say that the
more elections that have been held, the more authoritarian the country has become. Journalists and human rights groups say Cambodia
is sliding into a full-fledged dictatorship. And we spoke to an expert on authoritarian
regimes and democratization in Southeast Asia who says the country is already there. Hi guys, I’m Versha, this is NowThis World,
and on this episode we’re exploring the question: how did Cambodia get here? Before we look at these latest elections,
we need to understand who Hun Sen is. The world’s longest currently-serving Prime
Minister first came to power in 1985, but was a political figure in the country years
before that. A series of twists and turns in the Cambodian
power structure eventually landed him in the right place at the right time. In the early ‘70s, a young Hun Sen joined
the forces of the communist insurgency movement, the Khmer Rouge, and quickly moved up the
ranks to commander, leading hundreds and thousands of men in military offenses against the pro-U.S.
Khmer Republic in the years leading up to the Khmer Rouge’s takeover of the capital
city, Phnom Penh. Cambodia then spent four years in the mid-‘70s,
embroiled in the Khmer Rouge regime, whose brutal crackdowns resulted in the deaths of
an estimated two million people, including hundreds of thousands of mostly-Muslim Cham
people.This is considered to be one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century. Hun Sen has denied taking part in the human
rights abuses committed by the Khmer Rouge. He defected to Vietnam in 1977, allegedly
out of fear of retribution from the government for not taking part in the mass killings. Vietnam invaded Cambodia two years later,
overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime and instituted a new government, the People’s Republic
of Kampuchea, or PRK. Hun Sen’s connection and perceived loyalty
to Vietnam led to his appointment as foreign minister in the PRK, and then, by age 32,
Prime Minister. But under the police state of the Communist
PRK, human rights abuses continued. Security forces suppressed opposition groups
and tortured and interrogated detainees. Lee Morgenbesser, whose research examines
flawed elections and dictators in Southeast Asia, broke it down for us. “You had four warring factions, you had
an outbreak of disease, poverty, starvation, a lot of very terrible conditions.” Eventually, the international community stepped
in to oversee a peace agreement, with the goal of setting Cambodia on a path to democracy. This led to the 1993 so-called ‘free and
fair’ elections. Those elections didn’t turn out so well
for Hun Sen. His party, the Cambodian People’s Party,
or CPP, didn’t win the majority of seats. But he refused to accept the result, and forced
a negotiation with the Funcinpec Party to become second Prime Minister. In 1997, he orchestrated a coup to consolidate
power, and has single-handedly ruled as PM ever since. His official title in Khmer translates to
‘princely exalted supreme great commander of gloriously victorious troops.’ And starting in 2016, all media were ordered
to use this full title. As it stands, Transparency International ranks
Cambodia the third most corrupt country in Asia. But how could a country with constitution-mandated
general elections every five years be so corrupt? It has a lot to do with who’s running in
them. Though no fewer than 20 registered parties
competed in the recent election, it’s wasn’t really a competition. Hun Sen has denied this, but these parties
are known locally as ‘firefly’ parties for a reason. They pop up briefly during election season,
then fade away again. Many of these parties have been accused of
ties to the government, or even being completely fabricated. Besides which, they have no time to develop
infrastructure to mobilize supporters. “You’ve got a party that’s been in power
since 1979 competing against 20 minor parties that have no significance, no influence on
the political dynamics of the country, most of them don’t even have a national presence.” “They promote the idea of competition without
the substance of it.” He says the government is still using elections
to uphold the facade of democracy, to help Cambodia make a case for foreign aid, foreign
direct investment, and membership in international organizations. But Hun Sen’s party essentially eliminated
the only real opposition in November 2017 and imprisoned or exiled its leaders. Many speculate that the party’s surprising
success in the 2013 election was the driving force behind this. But even if these ‘firefly’ parties were
well-established with adequate resources, the actual process of voting still looks like
this: “Widespread irregularities with the elections,
such as vote-buying, voter intimidation.” “Literally handing out cash. Literally teaching people how to tick the
box for the Cambodia People’s Party.” Even if opposition groups exist, it’s difficult
for them to speak out without fear of retribution. A recently-enacted lese-majeste law forbids
people from insulting the monarchy, or risk facing a fine and years of prison time. And pressure from international bodies isn’t
as strong as it has been historically. Though the White House has recently reduced
its financial assistance to Cambodia over concerns about
‘setbacks to democracy,’ the current stakes aren’t too high for the country. “You have China backing Cambodia and the
government, and then you have Donald Trump in the White House who, quite frankly, doesn’t
seem to care about the promotion of democracy and security of human rights in Southeast
Asia.” And in the past year, the crackdown on human
rights has escalated. In addition to eliminating the major opposition
party, major independent newspapers have been forced to close, in order to silence critical
reporting. So, now that the CPP has taken another victory,
what’s next for Hun Sen and the country? Hun Sen has committed to staying Prime Minister
for at least another decade, and he’s also been grooming his sons to take over when the
time comes. But as the younger, more educated generation
grows increasingly disillusioned with Hun Sen’s authoritarian rule, could a mass protest
reasonably overthrow the government?
