Foreign populist parties observes controversial Cambodia poll- The New Indian Express

By AFP

PHNOM PENH: A mishmash of populist and far-right party members from Europe and Asia are serving as election observers in Cambodia's controversial vote

With mainly obscure groups on the ballot, the ruling Cambodian People's Party is all about achieving victory, extending Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power and solidifying the drift towards a virtual one-party state.

Hun Sen backed up a crackdown on his political opponents last year. One of its leaders with treason while the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the main opposition party

The US and the United States.

But officials have drawn on participation from the observers to the UK Independence Party, Italy's Fratelli d'Italia, a pro-government party in authoritarian Belarus and India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, among others.

"We're Here for the people, "said Richard Wood," who stood for parliament in 2015 for UKIP.

He dismissed questions about whether their presence might be legitimized by the lack of support for the opposition.

"It's not my position to say who's who and what's what," he said. "I'm here for one reason only, to make sure that I observe."

The National Election Committee says there are 538 international observers, adding to tens of thousands of domestic monitors, many with links to the ruling party.

A group of 23 election monitoring groups denounced the lack of independent observers in a statement Saturday.

They cited the withdrawal of two prominent local organizations and the participation of some foreign observers in other elections that lacked transparency in Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela.

Some observers interviewed by AFP painted a positive picture of the political situation in Cambodia, with little mention of the banned opposition.

"All we see is people dancing on the streets of Cambodia," said Vijay Jolly, a member of India's ruling BJP, on Friday morning on the last day of campaigning.

"Luca Romagnoli, member of the populist right-wing Fratelli d'Italia , said he was observing in a "casual" way and not a representative of his party.

"We were in Azerbaijan a few months ago," he said, referring to an observation mission to that country's election in April, which was also criticized as unfair.

Cambodia National Rescue Party Opposition Leaders from the now-banned