General elections will be held in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

in July 2023 to elect members of the seventh

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. The

Cambodian People's Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ...

(CPP) currently holds all seats in parliament. Prime minister

Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...

will seek another term in office, with his eldest son

Hun Manet Hun Manet ( km, ហ៊ុន ម៉ាណែត, ; born 20 October 1977) is a Cambodian lieutenant general who currently serves in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) as the commander of Royal Cambodian Army since 2018. He is the eldest son ...

expected to take over on an unspecified date, either after 2023 or 2028.

Background

Hun Sen was endorsed as the CPP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2023 election during the party's 43rd Congress. The Central Committee also unanimously approved Hun Manet as the party's future prime ministerial candidate after Hun Sen. Hun Sen has publicly vowed to stay on until after the 2028 election, though a transition of power to his son between 2023 and 2028 has not been entirely ruled out. Despite some shortcomings, particularly during the large-scale outbreak in early 2021, the government was widely praised for its COVID-19 response, having overseen a successful vaccination program, with over 80% of the population fully vaccinated, as of January 2022. A high-profile public spat between the

Kem Sokha Kem Sokha ( km, កឹម សុខា; born 27 June 1953) is a Cambodian politician and activist who most recently served as the President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). He served as the Minority Leader, the highest-ranking oppo ...

and

Sam Rainsy Sam Rainsy ( km, សម រង្ស៊ី, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian activist, economist and politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia Nation ...

factions of the former

Cambodia National Rescue Party ) , headquarters = , ideology = LiberalismLiberal democracyCivic nationalismPopulismAnti-Vietnamese sentiment , position = Centre , international = Liberal International , affiliation1_title = Regional affili ...

(CNRP) meant there is unlikely to be united opposition against the CPP.

References

{{election-stub Elections in Cambodia

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...