On Monday 30 July, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) criticised the circumstances in which the general elections were held in Cambodia the previous day, saying that the results of the election lacked credibility.
On 30 July, the party of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power for 33 years, announced it had won all the seats in the parliament. The main opposition force – the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – was dissolved last year.
"The lack of genuine electoral competition and the absence of an inclusive political process mean that the 29 July election is not representative of the democratic will of the Cambodian electorate, and therefore its outcome lacks credibility", the EEAS spokesperson stated in a press release. According to the spokesperson, the elections took place in "a highly restrictive political climate".
For several months, the Cambodian authorities have been using the country's judicial system and other forms of pressure to restrict the space for political opposition, for criticism and dissent, including by civil society, the EEAS spokesperson stated, adding that this had culminated in the enforced dissolution of the main opposition party, the CNRP, the arrest and prolonged detention of the CNRP’s leader, Kem Sokha, and the banning from political activity for five years of 118 senior CNRP members (see EUROPE 11907). "Free and independent media have been severely restricted", the spokesperson said. In February, the EU Foreign Affairs Council had warned that no electoral process is legitimate when the main opposition party has been arbitrarily excluded (see EUROPE 11969).
The EEAS spokesperson said that in this context, the EU had refused to observe these elections and had suspended its financial assistance to the Cambodian national electoral commission.
"The EU expects the Cambodian authorities to restore democracy, to engage in dialogue with the opposition, and to create conditions conducive to free political debate and competition", the spokesperson warned, adding that the media and civil society, including human rights and labour rights defenders, should be able to freely exercise their rights without undue restrictions. According to the spokesperson, the EU stands ready to "actively" contribute to this endeavour.
On 26 February, the Council had threatened Cambodia with sanctions if the situation did not improve, and on 12 July the European Commission had warned that it did not rule out withdrawing the EU's trade preferences for the Cambodian economy under the Everything But Arms scheme (see EUROPE 12061). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)