2013 general election On 28 July 2013 general elections were held in Cambodia, with the ruling
Cambodian People's Party (CPP) claiming victory with 68 seats. The
Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the main opposition party with 55 seats, rejected the results and boycotted the opening of parliament, claiming there had been irregularities with the voting. The E.U. and U.S. also expressed concern about possible fraud, The opposition party organised large protests in Phnom Penh during December, including motorbike rallies. The government called the protests illegal and stated that they were 'inciting anarchy'. Continuing Vietnamese influence also met with strong Siamese response, but in 19th century, Vietnam finally consolidated influence in Cambodia and annexed entire of
Mekong Delta. Attempt by Vietnam to assimilate Khmers into the country often met with strong hostility, but Vietnamese influence continued to remain in Cambodia, even during the
French colonization. Then, in 1949, French President
Vincent Auriol confirmed Mekong Delta to be part of Vietnam, and this was the source for eventual tensions. In 20th century, both Vietnamese and Cambodian nationalists cooperated together to overthrow the French rule, however the Cambodian nationalists were distrustful of Vietnamese counterparts, thinking that it was an attempt by Vietnam to create the greater Indochina under Vietnamese influence. This led to eventual hostility launched by
Lon Nol and
Pol Pot, with the latter being the most severe one due to his open hatred on Vietnam.
Khmer Krom nationalists also sought to free Mekong Delta from Vietnamese influence, complicated with the ongoing
Vietnam War. Following the defeat of
South Vietnam at 1975, the communist movements in both two countries dominated political affairs, but the
Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese communists became increasingly hostile to each other, leading to the
Cambodian–Vietnamese War in which Vietnam occupied Cambodia for ten years. For this reason, the fear against Vietnam is permanent in Cambodia. Similar to historical reason, economics is also another reason. Since the demise of Khmer Empire, Vietnam has been economically dominant. Even when both countries were equally destroyed by the end of Vietnam War, but
Vietnamese reforms of 1986 quickly redeveloped the country. As for the result, the Vietnamese economy became increasingly globalized and expands, thus has reasserted its dominance in Cambodia, and Vietnamese economic domination often brought resentment to Cambodians, who always thought Vietnam to be the sin of Cambodian nation. Culturally, Vietnam also has a greater reputation and is increasingly more open, while Cambodia has fluctuated over the Khmer Empire's historical pride and economic inferiority, and the lack of cultural common between two countries, since Cambodia is an Indianized nation while Vietnam is part of the
Sinosphere, further escalated the hostility. ==Protests and violence==