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Article: Winning ways; Cambodia's local elections.(political effects of election results)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 9, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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How to vote, the more peaceful way
Hun Sen keeps a grip on power
IN THEORY, Cambodia is a democracy run by the leader of the political party with the most seats in parliament. In practice, the prime minister, Hun Sen, runs the country by virtue of a monopoly of muscle, the readiness of thuggish subordinates to use it and a tight grip on the machinery and resources of state. Local elections on February 3rd, significant as a warm-up for National Assembly elections next year, did little to alter that equation. Mr Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP), in power since Vietnamese troops threw out Pol Pot's Khmers Rouges nearly a quarter of a century ago, ...