Cambodia heir leads final rally ahead of election
Cambodian leader Hun Sen's eldest son and chosen successor hailed "victory day" in a final rambunctious rally on Friday, ahead of elections that his father's ruling party is guaranteed to win. A crowd of tens of thousands on motorbikes, dressed in bright blue, gathered under grey skies in the early morning to hear Hun Manet's brief speech before he roared off in a huge celebratory motorcade parade around the capital Phnom Penh. It was the final rally before Sunday's election, which has seen all meaningful opposition either disqualified or exiled, leaving voters no choice but to hand Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) a majority in the 125-member parliament. "Today is a victory day for us," Hun Manet said under a giant poster of his father, urging supporters to vote for the ruling party. "Only the CPP has the ability to lead Cambodia.” "We will promote the national pride of our nation to the heights of the Angkor era," he said as rain began falling on the crowd, invoking the heyday of the Khmer empire, a dominant force in Southeast Asia from the ninth to the 14th century. International observers have condemned the upcoming election's lack of any credible opposition. The Candlelight Party, the CPP's only credible rival, was barred from running over registration technicalities. (AFP)