Cambodian leader says people who don’t vote will be barred from being candidates in future elections

By SOPHENG CHEANG and GRANT PECK
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s long-serving leader says his government will amend the country’s election law to bar anyone who fails to vote from running as a candidate in future elections, in his latest move to marginalize his political foes. Prime Minister Hun Sen says the change is needed because candidates for public office need to show their civic responsibility. He says the amendment will be ready for approval by lawmakers before a July 23 general election. The bill’s passage is a certainty, since all members of the National Assembly are members of Hun Sen’s party. Most prominent opposition members have been in self-imposed exile to avoid being jailed on various charges they say are trumped up and unfair, and the amendment would keep them from running in future polls.