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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The party of Cambodian strongman Hun Sen should take all the seats available after Sunday's election, said Monday a spokesman, predictably yielding to the power of the single party in a vote widely rejected as illegitimate.
"We were so excited that we could not even eat last night," said Sok Eysan, spokesman for Cambodia's Hun Sen People's Party in an interview. Official results will not be published until August. The challenge for Western governments that have supported Cambodia's experience in liberal multiparty democracy over the last quarter century is to find the best way to react without completely alienating the country, punishing The White House said in a statement that the elections in Cambodia "were neither free nor fair and did not represent the will of the Cambodian people", and warned that it could extend the visa restrictions to those who undermined democracy and members their family in some cases. The US House of Representatives last week passed a bill that would impose sanctions on Hun Sen 's inner circle and other people responsible for human rights violations.
The European Union also said that this election did not represent the will of the Cambodian electorate. that his "result lacks credibility". reconsider a preferential trade agreement under which Cambodian goods enjoy duty-free access to the European market.
Hun Sen "stripped the facade of democracy," said Sebastian Strangio, author of a book about Hun Sen and his decades-long reign in Cambodia. "Western governments have no more door to go to be able to say that there has been democratic progress."
"If [the West] does not respond to their threats, they would admit that [a liberal democracy] is in Cambodia, not possible," he added. Western governments have given billions to support a UN-led democratic effort following the 1991 Paris peace accords. Before Sunday's vote, a Cambodian court dissolved the main opposition party, Cambodia National Rescue Party, and imprisoned its leader, Kem Sokha, on trumped-up charges for attempting to overthrow the government with the support of the United States. . When opposition leaders called for a boycott of the vote, the government also cracked down on the decision, by imposing fines on former CNRP leaders who raised their fingers in a pre-election rally, a reference to the government. indelible ink used to stain the finger voter index. The government also silenced independent media and banned access to a number of websites in the days leading up to the vote, including the US-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.
"The ban on the opposition and the imprisonment of its leader, the closure of independent media and civil society and the threats against activists had made this election unacceptable even before it was over. It does not begin, "said a CNRP statement now disbanded. "The story will mark July 29 as the day when Hun Sen's regime called for sanctions and finally [will] brought down the Cambodian economy with him."
The electoral commission and the CPP ruling party remained defiant. They rejected the allegations of voter intimidation and vote buying and claimed that over 80% of eligible voters showed up, a number that can not be verified accurately since no credible election monitor n & # 39; 39 participated, for fear of validating the election. Instead, the government relies on less credible international observers to approve the vote, including those affiliated with the right-wing European parties and the Chinese Communist Party.
Nevertheless, the electoral commission has registered half a million spoils. votes up to now, in line with widely shared photos of opposition supporters who dismiss all parties listed on the ballot or who vote blank to protest.
Hun Sen's CPP continues to insist that the CNRP be dissolved insisting that it is preparing a "color revolution," a foreign-backed effort to overthrow the government .
"We can not forgive those who want to overthrow the government," said Sok Eysan, the spokesman. "It was based on credible evidence, you can not blame the CPP."
This view of the events that led to Sunday's vote diverges radically with that of Western governments, human rights groups, and the United States. and even many Cambodians, but foreign governments may be limited in their ability to respond.Analytics say the removal of duty-free access from Cambodia to the US could hurt dozens of Thousands of Cambodian garment workers: Cambodia exports about $ 4.3 billion worth of textiles and textile-related products to the US
"I have been to the United States several times, I have not need to go there, "he said." With regard to assets, [CPP leaders] do not hold assets in the United States. That does not bother us. "
Cambodia," he said, "is open to anyone's investment, especially those" who do not want to interfere in our political affairs or give us conditions "- a thinly veiled reference to China, its largest trading partner In support of Hun Sen, Beijing has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in Cambodia
The Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh n & #
Although the Cambodian ruling elites are happy to turn to China despite threats from the West, their views are not shared by everyone here. Sihanoukville, a port city on the Cambodian coast, has become an emblem in the minds of many Cambodians as a lesson of what happens when a city invites a frantic investment from China: big Chinese companies launch and launch major projects to hire locals.
"It is a concern to us that China can ask anything in Cambodia, and we will give it to them, as we are under remote control," said Meas Sokhen, a worker from 29 years. "Of course, it's good for development and employment opportunities, but there may be side effects we can not yet see."
San Sel contributed to the story .
Read more:
Cambodian vote should result in defeat for UN's pro-democracy efforts
Former Khmer Rouge commander who still leads Cambodia again stirs up anti-American sentiment
boycott of elections by opposition
Today's cover of postal correspondents in the world
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