Two Cambodian opposition party members have been arrested for allegedly inciting voters to spoil ballots, officials said, ahead of a national vote in which long-serving leader Hun Sen is effectively running unopposed.
Ly Ry and Bun Kheit of the opposition Candlelight Party were arrested on Friday for “inciting people to destroy ballots”, interior ministry spokesperson Khieu Sopheak said yesterday.
Authorities did not provide details on the allegations against the pair, but the spokesperson said authorities had “enough evidence” against them.
The kingdom votes in a general election on July 23 with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party running almost unopposed after the Candlelight Party, its main challenger, was barred from contesting on a technicality.
Candlelight Party spokesperson Kimsour Phirith said he did not know when the two arrested officials issued the call to protest.
“We are monitoring the case,” he said.
Recent election law amendments, ordered by Hun Sen to counter calls for a poll boycott by opposition activists, ban anyone who fails to vote in the upcoming vote from running in future elections. Obstructing the voting process or calling for voters to spoil ballots is also a criminal offence.
Rights groups accuse Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, of using the legal system to crush any opposition to his rule.
Hun Sen is campaigning for re-election but is expected to pass on the leadership to his eldest son, Hun Manet, in the future.
Scores of opposition politicians have been convicted and jailed during his time in power. — AFP
