Cambodia PM Hun Sen to hand over power to son next month

Phnom Penh, July 26 (Reuters) – Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday he will step down and hand over power to his son next month, ending a near four-decade reign that has in recent years overseen an erosion of democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

“Hun Manet…will become the prime minister in the coming weeks,” Hun Sen said in a nationally televised address, adding his son would be appointed to the post by the king on Aug. 10 and parliament would confirm the new premier with a vote on Aug. 22.

Hun Sen, who has ruled the Southeast Asian country for 38 years, was speaking just days after his ruling Cambodian People’s Party swept a general election after running virtually unopposed.

Western-educated military general Hun Manet, who has said little of his vision for the country, won a seat representing the capital Phnom Penh in Sunday’s election.Critics denounced the poll as a sham after the government disqualified the main opposition party on a technicality and threatened to penalise anyone calling for a boycott.

Hun Sen said he would stay on as head of the ruling party and member of the National Assembly.The newly elected parliament would convene on Aug 21 and the new premier and a new cabinet would be sworn in on Aug 22, he said.