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Cameroon’s 2018 presidential poll: The electoral, voting process

2, October 2018

Cameroon’s 2018 presidential poll: The electoral, voting process 0

Cameroonians prepare to go to the polls on Sunday, October 7, 2018; as campaigns among the various presidential aspirants intensify throughout the national territory.

Elections were conducted in the past by the Ministry of Territorial Administration, elsewhere the Ministry of Interior until the setting up in December 2006 of an independent body, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), to take over the organization, management and the supervision of elections.

During the more than two decades of one-party rule, elections were considered a mere formality due to the fact that voters were not offered a choice between different political parties.

However, the situation changed radically with the return to political pluralism. Elections became hotly contested with uncertain outcomes and looming threats of violence as it was alleged that election management procedures favored the ruling party coupled with numerous irregularities.

The Electoral System

The President of the Republic is elected for a seven-year term by universal suffrage and by direct, equal and secret ballot.

According to the Cameroon electoral code, the president is elected by a single-round majority ballot and the candidate having obtained the majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected.

It also states that election will not be complete until Cameroon’s Supreme Court rules on requests for annulment and announces the results.

According to ELECAM guidelines, every person of Cameroonian nationality of either sex, who has reached the age of 20 years, is registered and is free from all cases of disqualification provided for by law, is entitled to vote.

Candidates for the office of President of the Republic are expected to be in full possession of their civic and political rights and must be aged 35 years and above by the date of election and will have to show proof of having resided in Cameroon for an uninterrupted period of at least 12 (twelve) months.

The Voting process

The biometric registration of voters is carried out by the country’s election governing body, Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, prior to the elections. Polling is usually organized on a Sunday or a day declared a public holiday and lasts a single day.

The electoral code provides that one polling station is set up for a maximum of 500 electors and every polling station shall be located in public premises or in premises open to the public.

Each voter is allowed into the polling station after presenting their voter’s card and proving their identity by producing their national identity card.

Source: Africa News


October 7: The Challenges facing Biya and Akere Muna

2, October 2018

October 7: The Challenges facing Biya and Akere Muna 0

The Nkafu Policy Institute, are pleased to release a scientific, nationwide opinion pollof adult Cameroonians on the state of the economy, perceptions on governance and the democratic process, and voter preferences for the 9 presidential candidates.  This survey, conducted with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy, interviewed 2,024 adult Cameroonians in all ten regions.

Interviews were conducted in 54 urban centers and 25 rural localities from September 10 to September 20, 2018.  All interviews were conducted before the official start of presidential campaigns.  This representative sample has a margin of error of +/- 3%.

The findings reveal a country in free fall. 79.1 percent of Cameroonians believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction. The poverty level is alarming. Less than 17.65% percent of Cameroonian adults earn more than 200,000 FCFA (~$400) dollars a month. Cameroonians are mostly concerned about the state of infrastructure in the country: electricity, water, bridges, roads, railways and sea ports.

Today, 90 percent of Cameroonians believe the road infrastructure is bad or very bad. A large majority of Cameroonians (82.17 %) want local administrators such as Governors to be elected by the people.

Cameroonians have very little confidence in the legislature (only 16.31 % support the work done at the national assembly and 14.48 at the senate); supreme court (only 18.15 % of support), central government (16.93 % of support); constitutional council (16.40 % of support).

The vast majority of Cameroonians (65.04%) believe the Anglophone conflict is the greatest threat to the security of the country and most do not support the government’s war in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

Only 7.84 % percent of Cameroonians support the use of force while 85.49 % percent believe dialogue or negotiation should be the way forward. Not surprising, the incumbent president, Paul Biya, is deeply unpopular after 36 years in power, managing only 29.82%percent of support.

Three opposition candidates stand out with the young 38-year Cabral Libii among the group with 11.24 percent. The other top two candidates being Mr. Maurice Kamto(12.65 percent) of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement and Mr. Joshua Osih(13.10 percent) of the Social Democratic Front.

The top three candidates were all within the margin of error. Mr. Libii’s is mostly supported among Francophone youths where he commands 19.37 percent support among those less than 35 years old. The biggest surprise is the very poor showing from Mr. Akere Muna, with a support of only 2.12 percent.

It is very clear today that if Cameroon’s opposition parties are seriously interested in winning the single-round presidential elections scheduled for October 7, 2018, coalescing between Mr. Libii, Mr. Kamto and Mr. Osih, or only two of the three would greatly increase their chances.

One must be worried as 49.65 percent of Cameroonians are concerned of the risk of post-electoral violence.

This survey, in very simplistic terms, shows a society in deep decay, with no sense of direction and very little agreement on the most basic processes. There is great concern that at the current pace the growing tensions between communities and various political actors may degenerate into popular uprisings as societal norms continue to be eroded.

There is great need, in the lead up to this presidential election, for a stronger involvement of the international community.  It would be deeply unfortunate should the October 7 presidential elections further plunge the country deeper in crises.  Strong actions must be taken to avert this real possibility. There is great yearning for a new consensus among Cameroonians, for a new beginning.

Source: Nkafu Policy Institute


Iran fires missiles into Syria in retaliation for military parade attack

2, October 2018

Iran fires missiles into Syria in retaliation for military parade attack 0

Iran launched a missile attack into eastern Syria targeting militants it blamed for a recent attack on a military parade in the Iranian city of Ahvaz, the country’s Revolutionary Guards revealed Monday.

“The headquarters of those responsible for the terrorist crime in Ahvaz was attacked a few minutes ago east of the Euphrates by several ballistic missiles fired by the aerospace branch of the Guardians of the Revolution,” said a statement posted on the official website of the Revolutionary Guards.

State television and the state-run IRNA news agency said the attacks “killed and wounded” militants in Syria, without elaborating. Syrian state media did not immediately acknowledge the strike.

State TV aired footage of one of its reporters standing by as one of the missiles launched, identifying the area as being in Iran’s western province of Kermanshah. A state TV-aired graphic suggested the missiles flew over central Iraq near the city of Tikrit before landing near the city of Abu Kamal, in the far southeast of Syria.

Abu Kamal is held by forces loyal to Syria’s embattled President Bashar Assad. However, the city has been targeted even now by militants from the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, who have lost almost all the territory they once held in Syria and Iraq.

Confusion over who carried out Ahvaz attack

The attack adds to confusion over who carried out an assault on a military parade in Ahvaz on September 22 that killed at least 24 people and wounded over 60.

Iran initially blamed Arab separatists in the southwestern region near the Iraqi border for the attack in which gunmen disguised as soldiers opened fire on the crowd and officials watching the parade from a riser in the southwestern city. Arab separatists also immediately claimed the attack and offered details about one of the attackers that ultimately turned out to be true.

In a blizzard of furious statements from top Iranian officials following the attack, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, accused Iran’s adversaries the United States and some Gulf Arab states of provoking the bloodshed and threatened a tough response.

However the IS group also claimed responsibility for the assault, but initially made factually incorrect claims about it. An IS group video later released by the group’s Amaq agency showed footage of several men that Iran ultimately identified as attackers, though the men in the footage never pledged allegiance to the extremist group.

Targeting ‘takfiris’ and separatists

In announcing the retaliatory attack into eastern Syria, Iranian state media said the missiles targeted both “takfiri” militants – a term it often applies to the IS group – and Ahvazi separatists. The separatists have not been known to work with the IS group in the past.

Last year, Iran fired ballistic missiles into Syria over a bloody IS attack on Tehran targeting parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In September, Iran fired missiles into Iraq targeting a base of an Iranian Kurdish separatist group. The separatists say that strike killed at least 11 people and wounded 50.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)


British Prime Minister says “No special treatment for EU workers after Brexit”

2, October 2018

British Prime Minister says “No special treatment for EU workers after Brexit” 0

Britain will end preferential access for European Union workers after Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Tuesday, saying she wanted to attract high-skilled immigrants wherever they were from.

In an announcement at her Conservative party conference, May said she would publish plans for a single system for EU and non-EU countries later this year, ahead of a bill to be published in 2019.

Immigration was a key issue in the Brexit campaign ahead of the 2016 vote to leave the bloc. May said the EU’s free movement of people will end with Brexit and “for the first time in decades, it will be this country that controls and chooses who we want to come here”.

“It will be a skills-based system where it is workers’ skills that matter, not where they come from,” she said in a statement. “It will be a system that looks across the globe and attracts the people with the skills we need.”

She added: “For too long people have felt they have been ignored on immigration and that politicians have not taken their concerns seriously enough.

“The new skills-based system will make sure low skilled immigration is brought down and set the UK on the path to reduce immigration to sustainable levels, as we promised. “At the same time we are training up British people for the skilled jobs of the future.”

The announcement follows a government-commissioned report that last month recommended a level playing field for people coming from overseas but restrictions on low-skilled workers.

May said that those wanting to live and work in Britain for the long term would need to earn a minimum salary, and would only be able to bring their family if sponsored by their future employers.

However, she conceded that immigration policy could be affected by Britain’s future trade deals. The EU may seek to negotiate continued preferential treatment in return for Britain’s access to its single market, while other countries could also seek visa waivers as part of their own trade agreements.

“The ability of people from trading partners to deliver services and student exchange programmes will form part of future trade agreements,” the prime minister said. The government has already promised to protect the rights of more than three million EU citizens currently living in Britain after Brexit, even if there is no divorce deal.

(AFP)


UN expert calls for an independent investigation into Southern Cameroons war crimes

2, October 2018

UN expert calls for an independent investigation into Southern Cameroons war crimes 0

The United Nations special adviser on prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng has called for an independent investigation into what he described as ‘concerning atrocities’ in Cameroon. Speaking to the BBC on the eve of the symbolic declaration by separatists in the English speaking regions called Ambazonia Republic.

Over the past year, clashes between government security forces and separatist forces have intensified, leading to heavy losses of life on both sides and causing mass displacement of people. “The crimes committed by both parties need to be properly and independently investigated and perpetrators of those crimes need to be brought urgently to justice so that people know that no-one is above the law,’‘ Dieng said.

While majority of Cameroon’s 23 million people are French-speaking, about a fifth of the population is English-speaking. The Anglophone minority has long complained about marginalisation which led to protests by teachers and lawyers over a period of time.

Dieng said while there has been few incidents of election violence in the build up to the October 7 presidential election, there are still many ‘atrocious crimes being committed’ because of the Anglophone crisis.

“My worry is that we still have many people being killed, so far more than 400 people. We need to have political dialogue but also demand for justice,” Dieng told BBC.

“It is true that one could not exclude some form of violence [around the polls] but for the time being things seem to be under control,” Dieng said.

The separatists have vowed to prevent elections from being conducted in the English speaking North-West and South-West regions.

Source: Africa News


What does it take to get Biya a celebrity red carpet in Buea? An Elung Paul and Ekema Patrick

1, October 2018

What does it take to get Biya a celebrity red carpet in Buea? An Elung Paul and Ekema Patrick 0

During our editorial meeting today in Dublin, we got a bit curious as to what happens behind the scenes at a red carpet event like President Biya’s anticipated trip to Buea, capital of Southern Cameroons. Sure, we have plenty of Chantal Biya celebrity selfies to show our readers how the French Cameroun presidential couple enjoys tax payer’s money round the world.

But our senior political man, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai was interested to know what happens before Biya arrives Buea. In other words: the getting ready part. Like, how long does it take to arrange the red carpet, how involved is the presidency of the republic, and what happens if there’s a major drama like Biya and Cavaye Djibril turning up at the same time(a coup d’état)? So many questions!!

Our intelligence officer visited the venue in Buea and discovered that it was Minister Paul Elung and Mayor Ekema who were actually doing the mean job of setting up the so-called Red Carpet. The photo attached to this flat report actually shows Paul Elung at work in Buea. To be sure, this is part of the job description for a Southern Cameroons Minister and Assistant Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic in French Cameroun.

By Chi Prudence Asong


Southern Cameroonians defy government orders to celebrate independence

1, October 2018

Southern Cameroonians defy government orders to celebrate independence 0

The indigenous people of Southern Cameroons have staged public rallies, including a sit-at-home as per a directive from the Interim Government throughout the territory and even beyond as part of celebrations marking Ambazonian Independence Day.

Southern Cameroons agitators defied a curfew imposed by the Biya regime in Yaoundé. In the UK, Ambazonian protesters reportedly blocked the main road to 10 Downing Street in London to make their voices heard.

October 1 is recognized by all Southern Cameroonians as their independence day and the significance of October 1 was again echoed by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe during his historic declaration that led to the creation of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Today’s celebrations in the UK and in Southern Cameroons have sent a strong message to the international community that Southern Cameroons’ restoration is a priority to all Ambazonians at home and abroad.

The Acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako addressed the Ambazonian people early on Monday on the state of the Southern Cameroons resistance and the quest for independence.  Like President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius, he promised to never let Ambazonia down.

Earlier, the Ambazonian Communications Secretary, Hon. Chris Anu, urged all Southern Cameroonians to join forces with all genuine and sincere individuals and groups so as to make Ambazonia a strong and respected nation.

In Bamenda, Muyuka, Ndian, Mamfe, Akwaya, Ndop, Batibo, Menji and Wum, Southern Cameroonians paraded the Ambazonian flags and sang the national anthem of Africa’s newest nation.

A well-placed source deep within the Ambazonian Interim Government hinted Cameroon Concord News Group that Acting President Sako will also call on Southern Cameroonians to boycott the counterfeit presidential elections scheduled for October 7.

Reacting to the success of today’s Independence Day celebrations in Southern Cameroons, a CPDM baron who braved the bad roads to Buea to prepare for President Biya’s campaign trip to the Southwest region observed that “it is the beginning of what is about to happen in no distant time. The restoration of Ambazonia is equally a political lesson to those South West pro-Biya comedians who think that they are in charge.”

By Asu Vera Eyere


Southern Cameroons refugees in Nigeria seek help

1, October 2018

Southern Cameroons refugees in Nigeria seek help 0

Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria have urged the Nigerian government and international donors to help them with basic needs of life, indicating that it is not yet safe for them to return home.

Violence between Francophone state forces and English-speaking separatists has forced of thousands of Cameroonian refugees into Nigeria, splintering families and leaving many people sleeping rough, without access to staples such as food, clothing and education

More than 25,000 people have crossed the border into Nigeria to escape the fighting. Many are school-aged children and the United Nations and local authorities are trying to come up with a plan to provide education services for students who have not had access to schools since fleeing Cameroon.

Source: Aljazeera


Yaounde insists it will be ready to host Africa Cup of Nations

1, October 2018

Yaounde insists it will be ready to host Africa Cup of Nations 0

A top Cameroon football official told AFP on Sunday his nation “will be ready” to host next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), even though the final decision has been delayed.

Cameroon’s hosting of African football’s showpiece event has been in jeopardy for months since the decision to increase the tournament from 16 to 24 teams.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had been expected to confirm Cameroon as host on Friday at their meeting in Sharm el Sheikh, but instead postponed a vote until the end of November.

It said there had been a “big delay in the building of infrastructure” in Cameroon. But Dieudonne Happi, the interim head of the west African country’s crisis-hit football federation, said: “In the current state of things, I can tell you bluntly and without any risk of being wrong that Cameroon will be ready.

“The delay will be made up,” said Happi, the chairman of the Cameroonian federation’s normalisation committee, adding that the country will be ready “no later than December 31”, the deadline set by CAF in March.

An inspection committee from CAF and world football’s governing body FIFA will visit Cameroon in October to assess preparations.

The Cameroonian league is currently suspended because of funding issues and the federation is without a president.

Morocco, which unsuccessfully bid to host the 2026 World Cup, has lobbied to replace Cameroon as hosts.

“We are obviously ready to organise a major African event,” said Hamza El Hajoui, the president of the Moroccan football federation, adding that his country was “respectful” of both the CAF process and “the candidacy of a friendly country that is Cameroon.”

Ahmad Ahmad, the CAF president, denied that his organisation had already decided to take the tournament away from Cameroon.

“CAF has not yet taken any decision to the contrary… that the Cup of Nations will be origanized in Cameroon,” he told a press conference.

The tournament will take place on June 15-July 13. The tournament used to be in January, forcing European clubs to release their players in the middle of the season.

AFP


Southern Cameroons conflict, rooted 100 years ago

1, October 2018

Southern Cameroons conflict, rooted 100 years ago 0

Cameroon elects its president on October 7 against the backdrop of bloody violence in its two separatist English-speaking regions, which have vowed to not let voting take place.

Tensions can be traced back to events a century ago when Britain and France occupied Cameroon, taking over Germany’s major colony in West Africa.

Some background:

World War I split

Cameroon was a German colony until 1916, when British and French troops forced the Germans out.

The two countries divided it into separate spheres of influence that were later formalised by the League of Nations, the forerunner to the UN.

The much larger French colony gained independence in 1960.

A year later, the British colony also gained independence. Some of the English-speaking areas chose to join newly formed Nigeria, others to become part of the federation of Cameroon.

In 1972 the Cameroon’s federal structure was scrapped and it became one state.

English-speaking minority

Cameroon’s two mainly English-speaking southern provinces are home to around a fifth of its 23 million population.

Named the Northwest Region and Southwest Region, they jut into southeastern Nigeria.

The English-speaking areas are allowed some self-governance and national authorities have made concessions to their language, for example opening bilingual schools.

But many English speakers complain of discrimination at the hands of the francophone majority in education, the justice system and the economy.

Disputed ‘unity’

Calls for a breakaway English-speaking state mounted in the 1990s, with demands for a referendum on independence accompanied by low-level unrest.

In 2001 banned protest rallies turned violent. Several people were killed when security forces moved in and secessionist leaders were arrested.

The separatist Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) set up a “government” in Britain and leaders moved into exile.

2016 flare-up

There was a new outbreak of tensions in November 2016.

Lawyers in two regions, which are also strongholds for the political opposition, went on strike to demand the right to use Anglo-Saxon common law.

Teachers followed, protesting at the appointment of francophones in the regions’ education system.

The following month the national flag was torched at protests and a separatist version hoisted.

Demands for greater autonomy were rejected by President Paul Biya, in power for more than 35 years, leading to an escalation.

In 2017 anglophone separatists took up arms, attacking security forces and torching symbols of the administration, such as schools.

They kidnapped police officers, civil servants and businessmen, sometimes foreigners.

Biya branded the secessionists “a band of terrorists” and ordered a crackdown with curfews, raids and other restrictions.

In January 2017 senior secessionist activists were arrested and charged with terrorism and rebellion.

In an apparent effort to calm the situation Biya halted the secessionists’ trials in August.

In October separatists made a symbolic declaration of independence. “We are no longer slaves of Cameroon,” said Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the self-declared “president” of a new republic called “Ambazonia”.

2018: election threat

The standoff has escalated into daily acts of violence.

It had degenerated into a “civil war”, the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) said in April.

The International Crisis Group said in September that at least 400 civilians and 170 members of the security forces had been killed in a year.

The government says that 109 members of the police and security forces have been killed. The separatists have not issued a reliable toll.

Around 200,000 people have fled their homes.

Amnesty International has condemned a “horrific escalation of violence” and called for an investigation into crimes by both sides.

Hundreds of families have been fleeing the regions in advance of the October 7 vote, fearing an upsurge in violence.

Source: AFP


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