WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department on Wednesday said the United States is expanding visa restrictions on Cambodia after the official results of the country's election on July 29 were confirmed.
In a press briefing, U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that since the U.S. side has characterized the election as "flawed and neither free nor fair," the State Department is "expanding the visa restrictions initiated on December 6th, 2017 on individuals involved in the undermining of democracy in Cambodia."
"The expanded entry restrictions may apply to individuals both within and outside the Cambodian government" that are responsible for the "anti-democratic" actions taken in the run-up to the election, she said.
This announcement came after the Cambodian electoral committee announced that the ruling Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen won all the 125 parliamentary seats in the general election, which will ensure Hun Sen's another five-year term.
The relations between the United States and Cambodia have been souring since last year when the United States announced visa restrictions on the southeast Asian country for "undermining democracy."
The Cambodian Foreign Ministry expressed dissatisfaction over the visa restrictions in a statement released following the initiation of the restrictions in December 2017, saying "the move was politically motivated with prejudice and double standards."
