Cambodian parties team up to fight PM Hun Sen

Cambodia’s two main opposition parties have joined forces to challenge Prime Minister Hun Sen’s 27-year grip on power at a general election next July, a spokesman for the new group said on Wednesday.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party, formed by the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party, received official approval from the interior ministry on Tuesday, said spokesman Pol Ham.

It will be headed by opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who is seen as Hun Sen’s main rival but who lives in France to avoid prison for a string of convictions that critics contend are politically motivated.

“We hope that if Sam Rainsy can return we can win the election... or at least make it a closer race,” Pol said, adding that many grassroots party members supported the move to team up.

For now, both parties will remain separate so that their elected officials can keep their seats until the next polls, Pol said.

At the last parliamentary election in 2008, Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party won 90 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly. The Sam Rainsy Party took 26 seats and the Human Rights Party just three.