No democracy here

In Cambodia, prime minister Hun Sen is delighted to have elections so long as everyone understands he has to win or there will be civil war. (Source)

Victory or war! Such threats are quite unnecessary. His political party won 98% of the vote in the Commune Elections earlier this year and what bribery doesn't achieve, threats and intimation will!

There's an article in the Cambodia Daily today, therein the PM declared that the people must support him or risk disappointing the king but claims that this is not electioneering. How is it anything else? No one appears shocked at the threat of military action. Life continues as if all was normal and the leading political party had not just threatened to attempt a military coup on a democratically elected government.

The CPP is threatening civil war if they lose the elections. A threat backed up by military force is more akin to a military junta like Burma than an allegedly peace democratic Cambodia. Such threats should motivate the populace to question the rhetoric and vote with their conscience. But it probably won't. Who cares about politics when you can't feed and educate your family?