Many Cambodians Oppose New King

A poll released Thursday found more Cambodians would rather have no one succeed ailing King Norodom Sihanouk than have his son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, take the throne.

Thirty-six percent of those surveyed by the Khmer Journalists Association said “nobody” should succeed the 72-year-old monarch, who has cancer.

Ranariddh, who also is Cambodia’s premier, came in second, favored by 24 percent of the respondents. The rest was divided among four other candidates.

Sihanouk, Cambodia’s main leader in the 1950s and ‘60s, was ousted in a 1970 coup. Ranariddh restored the king to the throne after his political party won a 1993 U.N.-supervised election.