Cambodia’s Constitutional Council on Thursday rejected an appeal by the sole opposition party against its election disqualification, a decision that means the ruling party will run virtually unopposed in July.
The Candlelight Party, a weakened reincarnation of a popular opposition party that was dissolved in 2017, was disqualified from the July 23 election over its registration paperwork, a ban activists dismissed as part of a years-long effort to crush opposition to long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The nine-member council said the National Election Commission’s (NEC) disqualification of the party was constitutional, and the tribunal’s decision was final.
