Cambodia's Hun Sen defends dynastic succession amid international criticism

Cambodia's outgoing Prime Minister Hun Sen lashed out Thursday at international criticism of elections his party won against no meaningful opposition, and defended his decision to hand power to his son as necessary to avoid bloodshed.

The 70-year-old has ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for nearly four decades but announced last week he was stepping down for his son Hun Manet to take over as PM this month. The move came after his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won a landslide victory in an election last month condemned by the United States, United Nations and the European Union as not free or fair.

Election authorities disqualified the only serious opposition party on a technicality, paving the way for the CPP to win 82 percent of the vote and claim all but five seats in the 125-member lower house. "I can declare that democracy in Cambodia has won," Hun Sen said on Thursday in his first speech since the polls, insisting that the critics did not represent the whole international community.

He also defended his handover to Hun Manet – a dynastic succession compared by some critics to North Korea – maintaining it was needed to ensure peace in the country should he die in office.

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