King Sihamoni Agrees With US, UK And West Point Alumni Hun Manet To Become PMs, Cambodia Will Be Close To The West?

Hun Manet. (Wikimedia Commons/VOA Khmer/Hean Socheata)

JAKARTA - Cambodian King Borodom Sihamoni approved Hun Manet's candidacy as prime minister, replacing the incumbent who is also Hun Sen's father on Monday, confirming the transition to power that has long been awaited by one of the longest-serving leaders in the world.

The DECree, which supports the 45-year-old army general, Hun Manet, needs the approval of the National Assembly, which will be dominated by the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) after a landslide victory in the general election on July 23.

This DECree was first posted on Prime Minister Hun Sen's Telegram channel, a former Red Khmer guerrilla who has been in power for nearly four decades in a country that is rapidly changing from war and poverty for decades.

Analysts have long expected Hun Sen to take on a key role in the CPP, to protect his son from internal competition and allow him to gain legitimacy among the public and power networks

Hun Sen detailed his long record of service on Monday, explaining that he would last longer.

"I will continue to serve in other positions until at least 2033," he said.

"Thank you, my beloved wife, for raising this 'poor' child in difficult times so that she can become the country's current supreme leader," he continued.

Meanwhile, the legislature is expected to meet on August 22 to vote in favor of Hun Manet, who has yet to provide clues about his vision for Cambodia and its 16 million population.

Unlike his father who did not have formal education, Hun Manet studied in the United States and Britain, where he received master and doctoral degrees, both in the economic field.

He is also a graduate of the prestigious West Point military academy in the United States. Hun Manet served as deputy commander of the Cambodian Armed Forces, head of the Armed Forces and deputy head of his father's escort unit.

This transition will be closely monitored, to find out whether Hun Manet maintains his father's authoritarian quo status, or pursues a more liberal democracy with closer ties to the West, after years under the influence of China's biggest investor.

Cambodia's latest election has been ridiculed as fake by human rights groups, criticized by the United States for being unfair and unfair, after an opposition party was barred from running.