A Supreme Court official said 118 former CNRP officials would regain their political rights Wednesday and do not need to file any paperwork to make official their return to politics.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court had dissolved the opposition CNRP and banned 118 of its senior officials from participating in politics. The ban was for five years and will end on Wednesday, according to Supreme Court spokesperson Ouk Kimsith.

The court official said the 118 people will automatically regain their political rights and are not required to submit requests to the court or any other government agency. However, they could face legal consequences for any other “offenses” they have committed in the interim.

“The ban ends but punishment based on their actions in new offenses will be implemented,” Kimsith said.

Despite the Supreme Court ban, the government had created an ad hoc amnesty scheme for former CNRP politicians to rejoin politics, which was used by some political leaders, like Candlelight Party vice president Son Chhay, to join a possibly resurgent political opposition.

However, senior leaders such as former CNRP president Sam Rainsy have been given permanent bans by courts as part of convictions for various alleged crimes.

Government lawyer Ly Chantola, who was part of the November 2017 court hearing, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Candlelight president Teav Vannol said a few former CNRP officials had indicated they were interested in joining the party after the ban expired, but had yet to receive any formal requests.

“The Candlelight Party is a democratic party. So, we welcome all political tendencies that have ideas abiding to democratic principles,” he said. “We are happy and we will have even more democratic force.”

Vannol added that the five-year ban was unjust but there was little opposition officials could do because the ruling had come from the country’s highest court. He said that while the 118 have finished their ban, Kem Sokha, who the government has accused of fomenting a revolution, was yet to be convicted of any crime.

Few opposition politicians are hopeful that their return to politics will make any difference in the upcoming 2023 election.

“If we participate with the Candlelight Party or any other party, I think it means nothing [and won’t] let us help the nation and the people. I think like this because I’ve monitored and observed from one party to another. … They just strengthen their voices and that can’t help our nation,” said Prak Savoan, a former CNRP select committee member.

As he recuperates from Covid-19, Hun Sen continued his attacks on the opposition. He took to Facebook on Tuesday night to lambast Rainsy, whose family has been the target of the prime minister’s ire in the last few weeks.

Hun Sen was seemingly reacting to Rainsy’s comments on social media alleging that Army commander and Hun Sen’s son Hun Manet was attempting to cajole favor with Cambodian expatriates, including an allegation that he was using $5 million to buy the support of Cambodian expatriates in Europe.

“Do you dare [to bet] the son of the three generations of traitors [that this is true]? The family line is bad, it will still be bad,” Hun Sen said in a Facebook post.

The 118

Graphic by Michael Dickison. Ananth Baliga contributed to compiling the data.