Critical Times Ahead for the Ruling CPP

[geovalin]

KhmerTimes/Chheang Vannarith

The race for political power in Cambodia has gained steam as the elections are approaching. The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) are the two key competitors in the race.

The CPP is facing mounting challenges after the watershed election in 2013, which ceded 22 seats to the opposition CNRP. To maintain its power base is an uphill struggle for the ruling CPP, given its reform path was quite rocky and the speed of reform has been slow.

The development gap between the rich the poor, between the urban and rural areas, keeps widening. The poor feel left behind. Such developments result in the increasing popularity and power base of the opposition CNRP in rural areas, the political stronghold of the CPP.

read more: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22931/critical-times-ahead-for-the-ruling-cpp/