Hun Sen is the longest serving leader in Asia. He’s purged critics and is set to win Cambodian polls

By SOPHENG CHEANG and DAVID RISING
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodians go to the polls Sunday with incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen and his party all but assured a landslide victory thanks to the effective suppression and intimidation of any real opposition. Critics say he has made a farce of democracy in the Southeast Asian nation. The longest-serving leader in Asia, Hun Sen has steadily consolidated power with his strongarm tactics over the last 38 years. But at the age of 70, he has suggested he will hand off the premiership during the upcoming five-year term to his oldest son and head of the army, Hun Manet. Despite his West Point education, observers don’t expect any immediate shifts in policy from Hun Sen. He has steadily drawn Cambodia closer to China in recent years.