PHNOM PENH/YANGON -- The metal gate is closed at the shuttered headquarters of the Cambodia National Rescue Party in downtown Phnom Penh. No sign remains of the crowds of supporters who thronged the building during regional elections in June. A sign calling for the release of imprisoned party leader Kem Sokha lies abandoned on the ground.
The scene symbolizes the death of Cambodia's largest opposition party. The Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP on Nov. 16 after Kem Sokha's arrest on charges of treason. Its 55 seats in parliament -- 44% of the total -- were allocated to smaller parties, with 41 going to a royalist party that previously had none. The court's blatantly political decision, influenced by Prime Minister Hun Sen, virtually assures the ruling Cambodian People's Party of victory in the 2018 national election.
