Cambodia ex-PM Hun Sen returns to frontline politics for Senate seat

Cambodian officials voted in a Senate election on Sunday, setting the stage for former leader Hun Sen to officially return to politics after he stepped down as prime minister last year.

After nearly four decades of hardline rule, Hun Sen handed power to his eldest son Hun Manet in national polls last August held without any significant opposition.

Hun Sen at the time made it clear that despite his resignation, he still intended to wield influence.

The 71-year-old lawmaker and chief of the ruling party cast his ballot near his home in Takhmao city on Sunday morning for a seat in the Senate, the country’s upper house.

Hun Sen has said that he intends to become president of the Senate, allowing him to act as head of state when the king is overseas.

Councillor Chhim Vanarith, voting at the same polling station, welcomed the move.

“If he leads the Senate, obviously our country will be further developed and peaceful,” he said.

Four political parties, including Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the royalist Funcinpec Party and two small opposition parties, are taking part.

Of the 62-seat Senate, 58 seats will be voted on by 125 MPs and more than 11,000 local administrators. King Norodom Sihamoni will appoint two senators, while the National Assembly will appoint two others.

Most eligible voters are members of the CPP – who made a clean sweep of the Senate last election – making Hun Sen’s victory all but certain.

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“This is a sign of the Hun family’s further consolidation of power,” said Sebastian Strangio, author of Hun Sen’s Cambodia.

“It is better to ensure that the position not fall into a potential rival’s hands.”

Becoming president of the