Cambodia's strongman leader Hun Sen on Tuesday hailed this week's elections as "free, fair and just" after a controversial vote with no viable opposition drew criticism from Washington and the European Union.
Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is set to win all 125 parliamentary seats -- cementing the country's status as a one-party state -- after the main opposition party was barred from contesting Sunday's poll.
But the prime minister, who has ruled for 33 years, swept aside questions over the ballot's legitimacy in a celebratory Facebook post on Tuesday.
"Cambodia decided the fate of the nation through a free, fair and just election," he wrote.
Rights groups accused Hun Sen of wiping out his political opposition, choking free press and stamping out activism in the lead up to the poll.
Opposition figures had called for a voting boycott with a "clean finger" campaign, which election authorities said failed with an estimated 82 percent turnout and 6.3 million votes cast.
But in a sign of pushback from unhappy voters, around 600,000 ballots were spoiled.
In his post Tuesday, Hun Sen said citizens cast their ballots "without pressure or being forced", thanking voters for supporting the CPP.
A CPP spokesman told AFP this week the party is expected to take all 125 parliamentary seats across the country. Official results are expected on August 15.
The flawed election prompted swift criticism from the European Union, which said the vote "lacks credibility". The United States threatened to broaden visa restrictions on senior Cambodian officials.
Cambodia's key ally China, which has provided cash and soft loans to Hun Sen's government while remaining silent on human rights abuses and democracy, offered its "sincere congratulations" on the poll.
The former head of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) -- which was dissolved by the country's Supreme Court last year -- refused to accept the results and said voters had been intimidated into supporting Hun Sen.
"A victory without a contest is a hollow one," Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-exile in France, said on Facebook Monday.
Rainsy's CNRP clinched 44 percent of the vote in the last national elections, the most serious challenge in years to Hun Sen since he rose to power in 1985.
The 65-year-old premier is seen as a stabilising force in a kingdom haunted by a bloody civil war.
He has curried favour with ambitious infrastructure projects and patronage among employees of Cambodia's important garment industry, whom he showered with gift and cash in the months leading up to the election.
Cambodia’s strongman leader Hun Sen on Tuesday hailed this week’s elections as “free, fair and just” after a controversial vote with no viable opposition drew criticism from Washington and the European Union.
Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is set to win all 125 parliamentary seats — cementing the country’s status as a one-party state — after the main opposition party was barred from contesting Sunday’s poll.
But the prime minister, who has ruled for 33 years, swept aside questions over the ballot’s legitimacy in a celebratory Facebook post on Tuesday.
“Cambodia decided the fate of the nation through a free, fair and just election,” he wrote.
Rights groups accused Hun Sen of wiping out his political opposition, choking free press and stamping out activism in the lead up to the poll.
Opposition figures had called for a voting boycott with a “clean finger” campaign, which election authorities said failed with an estimated 82 percent turnout and 6.3 million votes cast.
But in a sign of pushback from unhappy voters, around 600,000 ballots were spoiled.
In his post Tuesday, Hun Sen said citizens cast their ballots “without pressure or being forced”, thanking voters for supporting the CPP.
A CPP spokesman told AFP this week the party is expected to take all 125 parliamentary seats across the country. Official results are expected on August 15.
The flawed election prompted swift criticism from the European Union, which said the vote “lacks credibility”. The United States threatened to broaden visa restrictions on senior Cambodian officials.
Cambodia’s key ally China, which has provided cash and soft loans to Hun Sen’s government while remaining silent on human rights abuses and democracy, offered its “sincere congratulations” on the poll.
The former head of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) — which was dissolved by the country’s Supreme Court last year — refused to accept the results and said voters had been intimidated into supporting Hun Sen.
“A victory without a contest is a hollow one,” Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-exile in France, said on Facebook Monday.
Rainsy’s CNRP clinched 44 percent of the vote in the last national elections, the most serious challenge in years to Hun Sen since he rose to power in 1985.
The 65-year-old premier is seen as a stabilising force in a kingdom haunted by a bloody civil war.
He has curried favour with ambitious infrastructure projects and patronage among employees of Cambodia’s important garment industry, whom he showered with gift and cash in the months leading up to the election.
