The government hoped the ceremony would project an image of tranquility, quite opposed to the image of political repression its critics have described in recent months.
On Thursday, Washington announced it was cutting $1.8 million in aid to the country’s national election body, a move Hun Sen claimed was intended to kill off Cambodian democracy.
The opposition’s strategy is to call for international sanctions, to lobby for the release of Sokha and other political prisoners, and to pave the way for the CNRP to be allowed to contest in next year's election.
Rong Chhun, a former unionist and NEC member, said the nominations were in violation of the law.
A Funcinpec spokesperson said it is wrong for Cambodian people to see the move as anti-democratic.
Ambassador William Heidt said he felt a deep regret at the government’s decision to move to dissolve the CNRP, which has led the White House to reconsider its foreign relations with Cambodia.
In an interview with VOA Khmer in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, Heidt said the embassy’s mission to strengthen the bilateral relationship with Cambodia remained of paramount importance.
Hundreds of Cambodian opposition commune chiefs face dissolution just months after taking power. VOA's Tum Malis report and David Boyle report.
Hundreds of Cambodian opposition commune chiefs face dissolution just months after taking power.
The National Election Committee said it had only registered 240,000 new voters by September 28.
Mike Godwin is an American lawyer working on Internet freedom and Internet laws and policy for over two decades in various parts of the world, including Cambodia.
Registration opened on September 1 and will close on November 9, with registration offices open only on weekdays.
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