On July 23, 2023, voters in Cambodia will head to the polls for the country’s general election, which is held every five years. Cambodia is a de facto one-party state: the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which has ruled the country since the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, currently holds all 125 national assembly seats, and party leader Hun Sen has served as prime minister since 1985. Though candidates from several opposition parties are contesting the July election, the ruling party’s steady quashing of the political opposition has meant that these groups have struggled to gain traction. International election monitors and democracy-focused civil society organizations do not expect this election to be free and fair.

Cambodia’s last general election was held in 2018 in a severely repressive environment. In the run-up to the polls in 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court issued a ruling dissolving the then main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). The ruling also imposed a five-year political ban on 118 CNRP members, many of whom were imprisoned and some of whom have since fled the country. In 2018, the National Election Commission (NEC)—on which the CPP controls all nine seats—sought to aid the ruling party by threatening to prosecute figures who urged an election boycott. The NEC also informed voters that criticism of the CPP was prohibited. The CPP ultimately won the 2018 election in a landslide victory.  

Since 2018, the CPP has continued to attack opposition politicians. Ahead of local elections in June 2022, several members of the Candlelight Party (CP), Cambodia’s largest and most prominent opposition party, were removed as candidates from the NEC list and threatened with criminal charges. Similar harassment and intimidation of the opposition has persisted in 2023 ahead of the July general election. In January, CP vice president Thach Setha was arrested for allegedly falsifying bank checks; the CP has condemned his arrest as politically motivated. The same month, Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to sue the CP after its leaders accused the CPP of political persecution.  

Hun Sen has also openly promoted a dynastic succession plan for the Cambodian government. In December 2021, the CPP endorsed the prime minister’s son, Hun Manet, as “future prime minister.” While Hun Sen has stated that this transfer of power would be enacted through an election—possibly in 2028—Cambodia’s downward democratic trajectory, characterized by the ruling party’s tight political control, systematic attacks on the media, and the country’s shrinking civic space, signals that another carefully controlled election environment may be replicated to ensure such a succession

Freedom House has identified the following as key digital interference issues to watch ahead of election day:  

• Arrests and prosecutions for online activity: Prime Minister Hun Sen and the CPP have increasingly penalized critical online speech in Cambodia. Throughout 2021 and 2022, dozens of activists and political leaders were prosecuted for their online activities, with many receiving lengthy prison sentences for criticizing the government on social media. In February 2022, CNRP activist Voeurn Veasna was sentenced to a year in prison for making Facebook posts criticizing the government’s COVID-19 response and stating that Prime Minister Hun Sen sought to appoint his son as his successor. Journalists have also faced criminal charges and imprisonment for their online work, especially as it relates to government corruption. In September 2021, a Cambodian journalist was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison after reporting on a land dispute allegedly involving high-ranking government officials. In May 2022, a producer for Facebook-based TCN TV was arrested and charged with defamation and incitement to discriminate for making corruption allegations against government officials on a Facebook livestream. By criminally charging and imprisoning opposition figures, activists, and journalists, the CPP encourages self-censorship and thus limits voters’ ability to access diverse and reliable information. This trend could worsen in the coming months, as lawmakers have entered the final stages of drafting a cybercrime law that would impose harsh criminal penalties on speech that the government deems adverse. 
• Website blocks: News and other websites have been periodically blocked in Cambodia, particularly those that disseminate information that could be perceived as a threat to the government. In July 2018, the government ordered the temporary blocking of 17 websites, including the Phnom Penh Post, Voice of America (VOA), and Voice of Democracy (VOD), for 48 hours before that year’s general election. Authorities justified the decision by invoking an electoral law that prohibits campaigning in the 24-hour period before the polls open. However, news outlets perceived as less critical of the government were not blocked. Internet service providers also reportedly blocked VOD’s website after the government revoked its license in February 2023. Blocking websites limits people’s ability to access information needed to inform their voting choices and stay up-to-date on the election process.  
• Content removal: Online content is susceptible to removal at the government’s behest, and the government regularly revokes the licenses of online media outlets in apparent retaliation for their content. In February 2023, the government revoked the operating license of VOD’s parent organization, the Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM), effectively shutting down VOD—one of the country’s last independent news outlets—and blocking its website over its reporting on Hun Manet’s role in the government. Further content restrictions are expected ahead of election day in July, limiting people’s access to both information about the election and campaigning from sources other than state media.  
• Information operations: The sharing of false and misleading information online has been a growing concern in Cambodia in recent years. Government agencies, politicians, and political parties have all reportedly used coordinated cybertroops to manipulate information on social media. The government has also conducted online disinformation campaigns against the CNRP. In 2019, the online outlet Coda Story reported that opposition supporters were forced to make videos “confessing” that they helped former CNRP leader Sam Rainsy return from self-imposed exile. At least one such video was shared by a progovernment news outlet. There are concerns that false and misleading information—especially misinformation appearing to discredit the CP—may permeate the online environment ahead of this year’s election.

 Cambodia has a score of 29 out of 100, with 100 representing the least vulnerability in terms of election integrity, on Freedom House’s Election Vulnerability Index, which is based on a selection of key election-related indicators. The score reflects a tightly restricted political and media landscape where free expression and assembly are severely suppressed on and offline, and independent media and civil society are often targeted for their critiques of those in power. The country is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2023, with a score of 24 out of 100 with respect to its political rights and civil liberties and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2022, with an internet freedom score of 43 out of 100. To learn more about these annual Freedom House assessments, please visit the Cambodia country reports in Freedom in the World and Freedom on the Net.