Cambodian premier Hun Sen to step down in three weeks and hand role to son

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has said he will step down in three weeks’ time and hand the position to his oldest son (Heng Sinith/AP)

Longtime Cambodian leader Hun Sen has said he will step down as prime minister in three weeks’ time and hand the position to his oldest son, who won his first seat in parliament in weekend elections.

The announcement came after their Cambodian People’s Party won a landslide victory in the polls, which Western countries and rights organisations criticised as neither free nor fair, and in which the country’s main opposition was suppressed.