Nobody at the CPP capable of taking over Hun Xen’s position?

13 September 2011

By Taing Sarada

Radio Free Asia

Translated from Khemr by Soy

Doubts linger among the people over Hun Xen’s leadership at a time when the ruling party keeps on selecting him as their PM candidate.

Some observers said that the decision to pick Hun Xen as candidate for premiership among the CPP rank is due to the fact that CPP party officials do not dare confront him. However, CPP officials said that Hun Xen is reasonable for the premiership candidacy because he has high leadership experience.

Four mandates has passed since the 1993 election and a number of observers are still puzzled as to why the CPP only presents Hun Xen as its sole candidate for premiership?

Some commentators indicated that because Hun Xen is more powerful than any ruling king, and he is equipped with a bodyguard unit of several thousand men strong who are armed up to their teeth, he shook all top national institutions, from the National Assembly, the Senate, all the way to the judicial system and the party rank and file.

Chit Chulsa, a political science analyst, said that the fact that the CPP always select Hun Xen as its candidate for premiership is because party officials do not want to see [internal] division, they do not want to lose their positions, power and their personal interests.

He believes that there are many qualified intellectuals who are intelligent and have the needed ability within the CPP rank, and these people can compete for Hun Xen’s candidacy, but they have been scared away.

CPP: Hun Xen to remain the party's candidate for the title of "Dictator of Cambodia"

General-Dictator Hun Xen

Hun Sen only PM candidate of Cambodia's ruling party: CPP

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) reassured Thursday that Prime Minister Hun Sen is the only candidate for the prime minister from its party for the next elections.

Giving speech at the party's commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the downfall of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime, Chea Sim, president of the CPP and president of the Senate said that Hun Sen will be the "only candidate from his party for prime ministerial position" in next general election.

Hun Sen, 57, has been in power for already 25 years and is considered the longest government leader in office in Asia.

After several decades of civil war, Cambodia held its first general election in 1993 under the full supports from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

Since then, Cambodia hold its election every five years and HunSen was re-elected prime minister ever since.

Hero-King: Hun Sen will win the 2008 election; Arunrasmy and her husband has no intention of seriously competing against Hun Sen

Hero-King: In Cambodia, people like to joke around the premiership candidacy

Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Rasmei Kampuchea Newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Hero-King Norodom Sihanouk said on 06 November that in Cambodia, people like to consider the premiership game as a joke, even though they know that Samdach Prime minister Hun Sen will win the 2008 election.

In an annotated comment to a French article published by Cambodge Soir on 06 November, King-Father said that Princess Arunrasmy and Keo Puth Reasmey, her husband who is also the current Funcinpec party president, have no intention of competing against Samdach Akkak Moha Sena Bat Dey Dek Cho Hun Sen who will win the upcoming 2008 election. The 86-year-old monarch added that, however, in Cambodia currently, people are happy to act as if they want to become the prime minister.

Based on the Hero-King’s comment, one can understand that the former monarch believes that Keo Puth Reasmey and his wife, Princess Arunrasmy, are people who hasve no inclination in opposing Hun Sen. King-Father also commented that he gave the entire Funcinpec party to Prince Ranariddh in 1991.

King-Father gave out these comments at a time when the Funcinpec party permanent committee plans to meet on Thursday. The agenda of the meeting will include the reflection on the discipline to impose on Prince Sisowath Thomico who criticized Funcinpec. Nouv Sovathero, the secretary of state at the Ministry of Information and F’pec spokesman, said that the party permanent committee includes 13 members, and it plans to meet on Thursday. The committee could review the discipline imposed on Prince Thomico. However, this issue is not clear yet.

According to Nouv Sovathero, Prince Thomico could face three types of discipline based on the review of his mistake. The lowest discipline could be a verbal and written warning. The second level of discipline would be imposed if the prince does not back down, and he could face being kicked out from the party temporarily. The most severe discipline could be his permanent dismissal from the party.

Prince Thomico, on his side, said that he did not commit any serious mistake, and whatever he said were reported in the newspapers or were raised by the civil society already. He said also that he only asks the party not to discipline King-Father who, in the past, criticized the Funcinpec party leadership.

When asked about King-Father’s comments, Nouv Sovathero said these are merely King-Father’s annotations reminiscing on the information published in his BMD information bulletin No. 24, dated 30 October only. The (F’pec) party president (Keo Puth Reasmey) knew that King-Father does not want to leave anything vague. This issue ended long ago, therefore there is no negative impact on the Funcinpec party at all.