Cambodia's Hun Sen keeps firm grip on power

PHNOM PENH, Apr 25 (Reuters) Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party cemented its grip on power with a large win in local elections that confirmed the demise of the royalists as a political force, official results showed today.

Hun Sen's CPP, whose communist roots are fast giving way to pro-business and pro-foreign investment policies, carried 7,993 commune seats out of 11,353 up for grabs in the April 1 poll, teeing it up well for a national election due next year.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister who has been the major thorn in Hun Sen's side for the last decade, took 2,660 seats.

The major shock, however, was a near complete washout for the royalist FUNCINPEC party after sacking former co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh as leader last year.

Ranariddh's eponymous party took 425 seats, while the FUNCINPEC rump managed just 274.

CPP chiefs hailed the result as further evidence of the popularity of Hun Sen, a one-eyed former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for more than 20 years.

Opposition parties criticised the results, saying polling had been marred by widespread vote-buying and obstruction of opposition supporters.

The National Election Commission denied the charges.

REUTERS LPB KP1329