Hun Sen Promises to Step Down If He Loses the Election

Hun Sen: "I will step down if I lose the election. But I will not lose because I will che...t".

6th March 2008
By Khim Sarong
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer to English by Khmerization : http://khmerization.blogspot.com/

Prime Minister Hun Sen has appealed to all political parties not to use violence or intimidations before or during the election and he promises that he will step down if his party loses the election in July.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said: “If we lose I will recognise the election results immediately and allow the winning party to form the new government in accordance with the framework of the constitution which stipulates that the National Assembly must be convened within 60 days in order to form a new government. I will go to transfer the power to a new prime minister at the headquarters of the new Council of Ministers in order to maintain political stability. After that I can travel freely. No problem. I can play golf, but I don’t think the situation will get to that stage.”

Mr. Hun Sen became the prime minister of Cambodia since the early 1980s.

In the general elections organised by UNTAC in 1993 Mr. Hun Sen became the Second Prime Minister and consecutively served two terms as prime minister afterwards, even though he was criticised by the public and the opposition parties who accused him of being a corrupt and a dictatorial leader.