Foreign populist parties observe controversial Cambodia poll
Members of UKIP and right-wing parties in Europe are monitoring the seemingly lopsided election that ruler Hun Sen looks likely to win
A mishmash of populist and far-right party members from Europe and Asia are serving as election observers in Cambodia’s vote on Sunday while many western governments are keeping their distance.
With mainly obscure groups on the ballot, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party is all but assured of victory, extending prime minister Hun Sen’s 33 years in power and solidifying the drift towards a virtual one-party state.
Hun Sen backed a crackdown on the his political opponents last year. Authorities charged one of its leaders with treason while the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the main opposition party.
The US and EU have declined to send monitors. But officials have drawn on participation from observers with ties to the UK Independence Party, Italy’s Fratelli d’Italia, a pro-government party in Belarus and India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, among others.
“We’re here for the people, to do this for the people,” said Richard Wood, who represented UKIP in 2015. He dismissed questions about whether their presence might legitimise a poll tainted by the lack of opposition.