Cambodian PM Hun Sen to retire, transfer power to Hun Manet in new government

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen has confirmed that he would step down from Aug 22 after serving the post for more than 38 years in the South-East Asian nation, and would pass the reins of power to his eldest son Hun Manet.

"Hun Manet will become the prime minister in just more than three weeks," he said in a televised speech on the state-run National Television of Cambodia (TVK).

Hun Sen said the National Assembly would convene for the first time on Aug 21 under the auspices of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, and the new five-year-term government led by Hun Manet would be sworn in on Aug 22.

The upcoming power transition was to continue ensuring the country's peace and political stability, he said, adding that the new cabinet would consist of young and dynamic leaders.

Hun Sen, 70, said the political power would remain in his hands because he was still the president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), but he would not interfere with the new government's leadership.

He would also take the post of President of the Senate after the Senate Election on Feb. 25 next year.

Hun Manet, 45, is currently a member of the CPP's Standing Committee and a deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1999, received a Master's Degree of Arts in Economics from the University of New York in 2002, and earned a Doctorate Degree in Economics from the University of Bristol in Britain in 2008.

Hun Sen's announcement came after the CPP won a landslide victory in the seventh general election on Sunday, which was held to elect the members of parliament for the 125-seat National Assembly for the 2023-2028 new term.

The National Election Committee (NEC) released the preliminary results, showing that the CPP received almost 6.4 million votes, or 82.3 per cent of the total valid votes of 7.77 million, and the Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Chakravuth gained 716,443 votes, or 9.22 per cent.

Based on the results, the CPP won 120 parliamentary seats and Funcinpec gained the remaining five seats.

The CPP has ruled Cambodia since 1979, with Hun Sen being the prime minister since Jan. 14, 1985.

Thong Mengdavid, a research fellow at Phnom Penh-based independent think tank Asian Vision Institute (AVI), said under Hun Sen's leadership, the CPP delivered complete peace and national reconciliation to Cambodia in 1998.

"Hun Sen's prudent, practical, and visionary leadership has allowed the CPP to establish a strong basis for generational leadership, and the party is now home to a number of competent, intelligent and far-sighted young leaders," he told Xinhua.

Speaking of Hun Manet, Mengdavid said he was qualified to be Cambodia's new leader because of his education background, sacrifice and hard effort in the Covid-19 fight, and charismatic personalities.

"I do believe he will continue his predecessor's works to resolve national problems, utilize his knowledge and creative solutions to boost productivity and recruit talented individuals to work in the government," he said.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said Hun Manet had the qualifications and characteristics to lead Cambodia.

"He is highly educated and qualified in Cambodia and abroad," he told Xinhua. "There is no iota of doubt in my mind that he will be more vibrant, energetic and intelligent than his predecessors." - Xinhua