PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Sunday promised to keep the same positions for any opposition commune councilors who defect to his ruling party before the opposition party is dissolved, government-aligned media Fresh News reported.
The Cambodian government filed a complaint to the Supreme Court, requesting the dissolution of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) on Oct. 6, a month after its leader Kem Sokha was arrested for allegedly plotting the overthrow of the government with the United States' support. He was charged with treason, the charge that could face up to 30 years in prison.
"It's more than 99 percent that the CNRP will be dissolved, and the dissolution will be made before the conviction of CNRP's leader Kem Sokha," the Cambodian prime minister was quoted as saying by Fresh News when he spoke to about 4,000 garment workers at a get-together in Phnom Penh.
"For commune chiefs, deputy commune chiefs, and other commune councilors of the CNRP, if you want to retain your positions, you should defect to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) because your party will be dissolved," said Hun Sen, who is also the CPP's president.
The prime minister described his offer as a "win-win" policy and vowed not to bow to any pressure from outside the country.
The Southeast Asian country is gearing up for the national elections in July 2018.
