Cambodian leader wraps up campaigning blasting boycott calls

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has finished his campaign for re-election by attacking an opposition call to boycott Sunday’s polls, and calling those who heed it “destroyers of democracy.”

Some 8.3 million people are registered to vote to fill 125 seats in the National Assembly.

Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party is expected to win easily following a court’s decision last year to dissolve its only credible opponent, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, on charges that it conspired with the U.S. to overthrow the government.

Critics say the move was politically motivated, part of a long-planned strategy to remove all obstacles to Hun Sen’s continuing rule.

In the last general election in 2013, the opposition CNRP came close to pulling off a surprise victory, winning 44 percent of the popular vote.