Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony of the Project for Flood Protection, donated by Japan, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 4, 2019. REUTERS Samrang Pring File Photo
PHNOM PENH, December 2, Reuters - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the longest serving leaders after 36 years in power, has offered to support his eldest son as his potential successor and defended the idea of establishing a political dynasty.
Hun Sen, who presided over a broad crackdown on the opposition, civil society and media in the Southeast Asian country that began in the run-up to 2018 elections, has in the past said he planned to rule until he felt he should stop.
His son, Hun Manet, 44, a deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed ForcesCambodian Armed Forces RCAF and joint chief of staff, graduated from the United States Military Academy in West Point in 1999.
I support my son to continue as prime minister, but it is through an election, said Hun Sen in a speech in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk.
Hun Manet also holds a doctorate in economics from Britain's Bristol University and Hun Sen defended the idea of establishing a political dynasty.
Even Japan has its own dynasty, like the former prime minister Abe. His grandfather was prime minister and he had visited Cambodia. Abe's father was a foreign minister and Abe was a prime minister, Hun Sen said.
Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party CPP, which has been in power since 1979, holds every seat in the 125-member legislature after the main opposition was dissolved ahead of the 2018 election, accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
Western countries and human rights groups have condemned Hun Sen for crackdowns on opponents, civil rights groups and the media.
In June last year, Hun Sen said that the ruling party would be a dominant force in politics for as long as a century, telling the opposition it should wait until the next life if it wants to take power.