KAMPONG CHAM: Prime Minister Hun Manet is continuing his father’s legacy by meeting with crowds of factory workers and delivering messages of peace, development, and the benefits of supporting the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

During a gathering of more than 10,000 workers in Kampong Cham Province on October 25, the PM cited the high voter turnout and the CPP’s landslide victory in July’s election as proof of the strengthening trust between the people and the CPP. He said that an election is a contract between political leaders and the people and the contract is up for renewal every five years.

He said that from 1993 to the present, the CPP has continued to honor its contract with the people and thanked those that voted for his party, allowing him to take over the position that his father held for 38 years.

Echoing his father’s sentiment, he then went on to extoll the value of peace above all, saying that no matter how rich a country is, there will be no happiness without peace. He cited the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Russia-Ukraine conflict as examples.

He said that only elections are a demonstration of democracy and can continue Cambodia's peace process. The democratic value of Cambodia’s election this year were called into question by the US, the European Union, and Japan after the only main opposition party was barred from participating due to insufficient paperwork. The Cambodian government has firmly denied the accusation that its election was neither free nor fair.

The PM said that winning elections by using war or inciting others to destroy peace is not a good option, as can be seen from the current situation in the Middle East, and that no matter how rich your country is, there can be no happiness without peace

Voters in July’s election who called for a boycott or crossed out their ballots were accused of “inciting others to destroy peace” and many were stripped of their voting rights, banned from running for office in future elections or fined under a new election law.