“Such a clumsy attempt at censorship will only make the party more popular, and improve its chances of winning in 2018,” he said. “I remain a symbol of resistance to the current regime and, in that sense, involved in politics.”

In February Rainsy resigned as official leader of the party but remains its most prominent and influential figure.

Man with no face: Cambodian politician deleted from signs

AFP / South China Morning Post | 17 August 2017

He has become a man without a face. In recent weeks Cambodia’s beleaguered opposition has been frantically scrubbing images of their exiled former leader Sam Rainsy from thousands of billboards and signposts across the country.

The mass pictorial purge was sparked by a new law banning political parties from “using the voice, images or written documents” of anyone convicted of a crime.

The opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) believes the law was specifically designed to neuter the influence of Rainsy before next year’s national elections.

The 68-year-old politician lives in self-imposed exile in France to escape a string of convictions he says are politically motivated.

CNRP member Bunleng said he tore down his former boss’s image from a large party banner erected in front of his home outside capital Phnom Penh last week.

“If we don’t remove his image, there will be a trouble for us, they would dissolve our party,” said the 59-year-old, who requested that only his first name be used. “Sam Rainsy is still inside people’s hearts ... His image will not fade away from people’s hearts very quick.”

Cambodia has been ruled for the last 32 years by Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest serving leaders.

He portrays himself as a premier who has brought growth and stability to an impoverished country ravaged by decades of war.

But critics say corruption, inequality and rights abuses have flourished under his watch.

Next year’s elections are viewed by the opposition as perhaps the best opportunity they have ever had to unseat the strongman.

Under Rainsy’s leadership they made significant gains at polls in 2013 and did well in local elections earlier this year.

But the CNRP has also been hit by a slew of court cases as Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party ramp up efforts to thwart their opponents.

Speaking from overseas, Rainsy hit out at the new law.

Cambodia lifts ban on return of former opposition leader Sam Rainsy

“Such a clumsy attempt at censorship will only make the party more popular, and improve its chances of winning in 2018,” he said. “I remain a symbol of resistance to the current regime and, in that sense, involved in politics.”

In February Rainsy resigned as official leader of the party but remains its most prominent and influential figure.

Could Sam Rainsy’s resignation help end Hun Sen’s reign in Cambodia?

Sebastian Strangio, author of a biography of Hun Sen, said there was “a personal element to Rainsy’s erasure from the Cambodian political scene”.

“For a quarter-century, Rainsy has buzzed around, prodding at the CPP’s legitimacy and questioning the benefits of Hun Sen’s rule. I think Hun Sen simply got tired of it,” he said. “But it seems unlikely that removing Sam Rainsy from CNRP signs will remove him from the memories of Cambodian voters.”