Pol Pot

=== Developing the movement: 1955–1959 ===
Cambodia's communists wanted to operate clandestinely but also established a socialist party, [[Pracheachon]], to serve as a [[front organization]] through which they could compete in the 1955 election.{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=48}} Although Pracheachon had strong support in some areas, most observers expected the Democratic Party to win.{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1pp=46, 48|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2p=106}} Sihanouk feared a Democratic Party government and in March 1955 abdicated the throne in favor of his father, [[Norodom Suramarit]]. This allowed him to legally establish a political party, the [[Sangkum Reastr Niyum]], with which to contest the election.{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=49|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2pp=109–10}} The [[1955 Cambodian general election|September election]] witnessed widespread voter intimidation and electoral fraud, resulting in Sangkum winning all 91 seats.{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1pp=49, 51|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2pp=110–12}} Sihanouk's establishment of a ''de facto'' one-party state extinguished hopes that the Cambodian left could take power electorally.{{sfn|Short|2004|pp=112–13}} North Vietnam's government nevertheless urged the Khmer Party not to restart the armed struggle; the former was focused on undermining South Vietnam and had little desire to destabilize Sihanouk's regime given that it had—conveniently for them—remained internationally un-aligned rather than following the Thai and South Vietnamese governments in allying with the anti-communist [[United States]].{{sfn|Short|2004|pp=113–14}}

Sâr rented a house in the [[Chamkar Mon District|Boeng Keng Kang]] area of Phnom Penh.{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=47|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2p=116}} Although not qualified to teach at a state school,{{sfn|Chandler|1992|p=54}} he gained employment teaching history, geography, French literature, and morals at a private school, the Chamraon Vichea ("Progressive Knowledge");{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=52|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2p=120}} his pupils, who included the later novelist [[Soth Polin]], described him as a good teacher.{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=54|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2p=120}} He courted society belle Soeung Son Maly{{sfn|Short|2004|pp=116–17}} before entering a relationship with fellow communist revolutionary [[Khieu Ponnary]], the sister of Sary's wife Thirith.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=117}} They were married in a Buddhist ceremony in July 1956.{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=52|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2p=118}} All correspondence between the Democratic Party and the Pracheachon went through him, as did most communication with underground elements.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=116}} Sihanouk cracked down on the movement, whose membership had halved since the end of the civil war.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=120}} Links with the North Vietnamese communists declined, something Sâr later portrayed as a good thing as "it gave us the chance to be independent and develop ourselves.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=121}} He and other members increasingly regarded Cambodians as too deferential to their Vietnamese counterparts; to deal with this, Sâr, Tou Samouth, and [[Nuon Chea]] drafted a programme and statutes for a new party that would be allied with but not subordinate to the Vietnamese.{{sfn|Short|2004|pp=121–22}} They established party cells, emphasising the recruitment of small numbers of dedicated members, and organized political seminars in safe houses.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=122}}