Bektimirova Nadezhda

Interparty Rivalry in Cambodia in 2017: Trends and Prospects

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2017, №36, 110-123

 
Annotation: This article considers the political rivalry between the Cambodian People’s Party and the Cambodia National Rescue Party. This rivalry intensified drastically in the run up to local elections in June 2017. The election results proved the existence of a deep divide in Cambodian society. There was only a 7% gap between the ruling and opposition parties. The election results gave the opposition party reason to hope that winning the 2018 parliamentary elections was within the realm of possibility. Determined not to let that happen the ruling party concentrated its efforts on squeezing the Khmer National Rescue Party out of the political arena, through the judicial system.

Keywords: Cambodian People’s Party, Cambodia National Rescue Party, political rivalry, opposition party, local and parliamentary elections, “colour revolution”, party dissolution.