As Cambodia’s commune elections approach, many people are faced with the dilemma of whether they should participate. The ruling party’s ongoing crackdown on the country’s civil and political spaces has left voters with so few choices at the polls that some now refer to Cambodia as a “managed dictatorship.” To abstain from voting would mean giving up a chance to unseat Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party, but casting a ballot risks adding legitimacy to what many expect will be a sham election. Either way, the ruling party stands to win in a contest with no viable opposition.
