Prime Minister Hun Sen and Cambodia’s senior opposition leader on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US presidential election.
“I would like to congratulate His Excellency Donald Trump for achieving victory in the US presidential election,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“Several days ago I publicly supported your candidature. Since then several individuals have come out to criticize me and referred to you, His Excellency Donald Trump, as a dictator for having endorsements coming from a leader like myself.
“At this moment the American voters have shown their choice to elect His Excellency the same way as my support for your candidacy is not wrong either,” he added.
Despite the Democrat’s candidate, Hillary Clinton, looking set to win a slightly larger share of the popular vote by Wednesday night, Trump had won enough electoral college votes to secure the presidency.
Kem Sokha, deputy leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, also offered congratulations to Trump.
“I believe that the policies of the Republican Party, which offered value to the freedom of humanity ... would continue to be warm and firm for democracy, rights, and freedom of Khmer people in Cambodia,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
In a shock result that contradicted months of polling data and media consensus, Trump will take up residency in the White House with Republican majorities in the Senate and Congress.
So Chantha, a political scientist, said the election result marked a “crucial change” for the United States, adding that states where human rights protections were fragile might suffer as a result. “There might not be much movement on the advancement of democracy in Cambodia with true human rights respect and the rule of law,” he said.
