Towards a community of democracies in South-East Asia

Compromised democracy: A Cambodian villager casting a ballot at a polling station in Takhmua, Kandal province, south-east of Phnom Penh. — AP

THERE is actually not much to write about the recent elections in Cambodia. As resignation and despair mounts, it is hard to imagine how democracy and respect for human rights can bounce back in the country.

Will the much-gossiped passing of the baton between Prime Minister Hun Sen and his eldest son, Hun Manet, herald some change? Will the handover really happen and when?