Politics

Biya should go now

18, October 2018

Biya should go now 0

A wise man wrote some years ago that leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation. The blindness of President Paul Biya and his CPDM crime syndicate in Yaoundé to grasp this simple fact about good governance and the essence of power is worrying. After thirty-six years in office, any rightful thinking politician would know he has overstayed his time. The poor performance of his tenure is there for all to see. The economy is on its knees, manufacturing is non-existent and food shortage is a fact of life. One of our desk editors jokingly opined that unemployment is over 60%- a shocking and unacceptable statistic. Public finances are depleted and non-existent.

When Thomas Jefferson said the will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, he certainly knew what he was talking about. On Sunday the 7th of October 2018, the people of Cameroon went to the polls to elect a new leader and Prof Maurice Kamto won.  Biya and his gang with the support of the Beti Ewondo soldiers are working hard to extend his deplorable mandate. At 85 years of age, Biya represents the most awful of the African dictators. He is old and incontinent.  Somehow, his selfishness and idiocy have brought the once prosperous nation he inherited in 1982 to one of the poorest on the planet. His determination to carry on at the top has become an obsession. All that matters to him and his cohorts is that they stay in power draining the meagre public finances and running the country to the ground. By his actions and in actions over the years, Biya has forfeited the confidence of Cameroonians, hence the contempt upon which his people hold him.

There is corruption in every nation on earth including the Vatican. However, the role of any responsible government is to keep these to a minimum as they can never be completely eradicated. The crime syndicates in Yaoundé seem to think and believe that corruption and fraud is the chief role of government. With scandalous energy and determination, tribalism has been and is being promoted shamelessly.  The country has no healthcare system, no road networks, no workable schooling system and no plan for the future. The justice system is making a mockery of both the civil and common law. It is hard to say if it is the civil judges or the military tribunal in Yaoundé that is in charge of the legal system and the courts.

After the people voted crushingly to kick Biya out, all instruments are being employed to keep him and his clique in power.  His so-called Constitutional Council made up of his associates and fellow criminals have set their thieving machine in motion and over the next few days will proclaim victory. The international community is watching without any eloquent and strong condemnation. This silence of the lamb from the UN, AU and the EU is worrying Cameroonians who have the best interest of their country and future generations at heart. The shameful role that France and the world media are playing in their silence will be judged by future historians as one of the biggest failures of our times.

It is impossible to preach a message of hope, audacity and coolness these days in Cameroon. These great human qualities have vanished from the public. The streets are filled with poverty, misery and anxiety. But people must draw inspiration from Thucydides who wrote that the secret to happiness is freedom and the secret to freedom is courage. They must have the courage that to attain freedom and happiness, they will have to stand up to the antics of these criminals in Yaoundé. The people of Ambazonia have stood up to these paper tigers effectively for over a year now and the rest of the nation has to realize that they must do the same or this reign of terror and corruption would continue forever. The cost of freedom is high but many nations have paid this price. As a nation, we must decide if this is the time for us to pay ours.

As the people await the inevitable declaration of victory, one has to ask what drives a man to seek to extend a reign that has been a colossal and abject disaster. One has to ask if Biya and his supporters have the next generation in mind.

By Staff lady Asu Vera Eyere


Cameroon’s Presidential Poll: Kamto’s team produces incontrovertible evidence

17, October 2018

Cameroon’s Presidential Poll: Kamto’s team produces incontrovertible evidence 0

After throwing out Prof. Kamto’s application for members of the Constitutional Council to recuse themselves because of the numerous conflicts of interest outlined in the applicant’s application, the Kamto legal team put up an impressive show on the irregularities that actually marred the October 7, 2018 poll.

The team’s lead legal expert put the team’s collective effort and determination to expose the ruling party’s sloppy rigging strategy on display. The team outlined cases of massive fraud, with numbers for many polling stations not adding up and some results report signed without being properly verified if they had been signed by the right persons. The reported cases of fraud concerned, in particular, the Far North, the South, and the Northwest and Southwest regions.

In the two English-speaking regions, it was reported that since the population had been chased away by government forces that had resorted to shooting young men, army soldiers voted as many times as they could, oblivious of the fact that everybody was aware that the population had moved into East Cameroon and on voting day, there was no security for those who wanted to venture out to vote.

Some of the result reports did not even have the signatures of the returning officers and where there were signatures, the number of signatures on the first pages did not match the number of signatures on the following pages. Some results reports were produced based on the recommendations of the authorities who, in many cases, were ruling party supporters.

In the Far North region which has been given to Mr. Paul Biya, the number of votes cast was higher than the number of registered voters. The CPDM rigging machine in that region had actually worked overtime and it failed to take into consideration the number of registered voters.

But it was in the South region, which is the president’s region which the ruling party felt that it had a free hand to do whatever it wanted. Its sloppiness resulted in many mistakes, with even dead people voting.  The Constitutional Council session was put off to Wednesday at 9:30am Cameroon time after Council members were totally overwhelmed by the evidence Prof. Kamto’s team provided.

Meanwhile the Constitutional Council had rejected early on Tuesday the application for recusal filed by the Kamto Campaign. It was however said he could challenge the incompatibility of the person who appointed Council members and the person in question is President Paul Biya who himself was also a candidate in the October 7 presidential poll.

Knowing well that the outcome of the application could not be otherwise, Maurice Kamto felt it was necessary for him to follow the legal procedure as the best way to expose the Biya regime to the international community as being the judge and jury in a case on the country’s future and stability depend.

The debates are continuing, but what happened today during the hearing was just a foretaste of what will be playing out in the days ahead. In opening statements by Prof. Kamto’s legal team, the various lawyers called on the chair of the constitutional council to exercise justice, reminding him that the future of the country depended on whatever decision the Constitutional Council would take.

First to fire was Barrister Yondo Black who pointed out that all the members of the constitutional council were also members of the ruling party whose role in the just-ended election had been called to question. He added that the person who appointed them was himself a candidate in the election and it would be challenging to accept that the Constitutional council would be impartial in a case in which members of the constitutional council stood to gain.

For his part, Barrister Akere Muna added that Cameroon had never known a smooth transition as the country switched from a single party state to a single party democracy wherein the ruling party was in control of everything. He urged the President of the Constitutional Council to exercise sound judgment in taking a decision that could make or mar the peace of the country.

Other lawyers also pointed out the inconsistencies and the conflict of interest that would make it hard for the Constitutional Council members to be impartial. It should be recalled that the wife of the president of the constitutional council is a ruling party parliamentarian and the president of the constitutional council is still working as a lawyer and defending state interest with the latest situation taking place on September 30, 2018.

They also pointed out that various members of the constitutional council were either members of the central committee of the ruling party or had been appointed to serve as chairmen of the boards of directors of various state-owned corporation; a situation that made it hard for them to be impartial in addressing the post-electoral conflict in Cameroon.

With the application for recusal rejected, the debates on the various electoral irregularities will therefore continue and Cameroonians are looking forward to justice although many argue the outcome of the hearing is already known. With a Constitutional Council set up by Mr. Biya and comprising mainly members of his party, it is clear that many of the complaint on electoral fraud will be thrown out to give the incumbent another 7-year term.

Meanwhile, as the political crisis in Yaoundé continues, the country has continued with its descent to chaos. In the English-speaking region of the country, the killings have continued and soldiers loyal to Mr. Biya are continuing with their rampage. They have shooting carelessly in major cities in the region and this has led to the death of many young men.

Cameroon’s downward spiral seems to be unstoppable. As the political situation continues to decline due to the presidential election, some people are secretly amassing weapons in preparation for a battle that might plunge the entire sub-region into chaos.

By Kingsley Betek, Sama Ernest and Asu Vera Eyere


Cameroon’s Presidential Polls: Kamto Campaign rejects ‘leaked’ results showing Biya victory

16, October 2018

Cameroon’s Presidential Polls: Kamto Campaign rejects ‘leaked’ results showing Biya victory 0

Cameroon’s main opposition candidate, Maurice Kamto, who last week declared himself winner of the October 7 presidential election, has rejected ‘leaked’ results that show a landslide victory for his opponent, the incumbent Paul Biya.

In a Facebook post, posted on Monday, Kamto said results which are purported to originate from the National Vote Counting Commission, are ‘fake figures originating from fabricated sheets of fake observers of Transparency International’.

‘‘In reaction to this falsified victory, CRM and its coalition of political parties and other organisations supporting the candidacy of Maurice Kamto have categorically rejected these falsified results,’‘ read part of the statement.

The National Voting Commission, which is responsible for counting the votes cast throughout Cameroon and in the diaspora, reportedly submitted its report to the Constitutional Council on 15th October.

According to the report of this commission, which has been reportedly leaked on social media, Paul Biya received over 71% of the votes cast, against a paltry 14% for Kamto. The Constitutional Council has up to 22nd October to announce the final results of the presidential election.

In the meantime, the opposition which has called for partial and total annulment of the presidential election, will have their petitions heard by the Constitutional Council on Tuesday.

Source: Africa News


France: Macron cabinet reshuffle delayed due to severe floods

15, October 2018

France: Macron cabinet reshuffle delayed due to severe floods 0

Two weeks after the hasty departure of France’s interior minister Gérard Collomb, Emmanuel Macron’s long-awaited government reshuffle is expected to be announced Monday. The president and his prime minister have been weighing the reshuffle for a few weeks, following the departure of three ministers since late August, including Interior Minister Gérard Collomb and Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot.

Several ministerial posts could be affected. Given the recent spate of resignations, observers have questioned why the reshuffle has been so long in coming. Ministers had been expecting the rejig before a cabinet meeting last week. But the Élysée said it would not happen until Macron’s return from a visit to Armenia that Friday.

Macron, whose authority has been challenged over Collomb’s departure, said he wanted to take his time.

“When you want to work with people, you must take the time to get to know them, to make sure that we think the same thing and to check all the elements,” Emmanuel Macron told FRANCE 24 during an interview on Friday in Armenia, where he was attending the international summit of French-speaking countries.

“You need to make these decisions calmly, methodically and at the right pace. The government is at work. There are no empty seats. Things are moving along,” he said.Voir l'image sur Twitter

Macron, 40, faces multiple challenges in carrying out a significant revamp. Not only must he try to maintain the left-right balance that he made a hallmark of his centrist movement, but also find strong candidates from among a relatively shallow and inexperienced pool of loyalists.

“The president wishes to take all the time necessary to draw up a team in a calm and professional way,” the Élysée Palace said in a statement announcing the reshuffle’s delay.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux, a member of Macron’s inner circle, denied the Macron administration was in disarray.

“There is no division in the government or the parliamentary majority on the political line we are pursuing,” he said.

Macron’s popularity has sunk in recent months as frustration has welled up over a leader many voters see as arrogant and the architect of policies that favour the wealthy.

Opponents branded the reshuffle a “tragi-comedy” that exposed a shortage of political experience in the ruling party.

Macron’s République En Marche party, though, holds a commanding majority in the National Assembly (lower house), his presidential term runs until 2022, and the opposition is divided, meaning he faces no immediate threat.

Prime Minister Édouard Philippe told baying opposition lawmakers there was “no anxiety, no restlessness” inside an administration committed to social and economic reform including an overhaul of the pension and unemployment benefit systems.

A senior Élysée official said the reshuffle process was taking longer than expected because Macron had redrawn the political landscape and brought in faces from outside politics.

“We’re no longer in an age where because someone has 15 years of service under their belt they deserve to become a minister,” the official said.

Diminished pulling power

Macron’s rivals are not convinced.

“Macron’s ability to attract is pretty weak,” hard-left lawmaker Alexis Corbière told BFM TV. “Many are asking themselves: ‘What should we do in this mess?’ They don’t want to be finished politically by becoming a minister in a government that risks descending into crisis in less than a year.”

In winning power in May 2017, Macron and his En Marche movement demolished France’s traditional mainstream parties. He went on to poach senior politicians from both poles and draft in newcomers to build a government “neither of the right nor left”.

But as the lustre has worn off his young presidency, and the impact of early reforms to the labour code and tax rules have yet to filter through, rivals have sought to depict an increasingly isolated figure with diminished star power.

“That they cannot replace the interior minister highlights chaos inside the Macron administration,” said Valérie Boyer of the centre-right Les Républicains party. “Either there’s a lack of names or a lack of candidates in whom the president can trust and who will stay loyal to his programme.”

While Macron doesn’t face re-election until 2022, European Parliament elections in May next year and municipal voting in France in 2020 could turn into a semi-referendum on his mid-term performance.

Particularly damaging to Macron in recent weeks were comments made by ex-interior minister Collomb. An early convert to Macronism, Collomb said the president and his team “lacked humility” and warned of hubris – a viewpoint which opinion polls show is shared by many voters.

“The issue here is not the government but the president, a president who is seen by French people as someone who doesn’t listen to them, and even belittles them,” said Jean-Daniel Levy of pollster Harris Interactive.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)


Biya’s concocted victory leaked?

15, October 2018

Biya’s concocted victory leaked? 0

Local media portals are reporting that a leaked result shows that president Paul Biya was in the lead with over 71% of votes cast. The government or ELECAM has yet to confirm or deny the information.

The fight against fake news was one of the core campaign issues ahead of the election. Yaoundé had gone as far as seek the help of social media giants, Facebook, to help combat the menace.

Elections body, ELECAM, on Thursday confirmed that it had been served legal challenges to the October 7 presidential polls. A total of 18 individuals and parties had approached the Constitutional Council.

“They are thus allowed 48 hours to submit their replies, against a receipt. Section 133 (3) od the Electoral Code,” it added in a tweet.

Meanwhile a local journalist is reporting that the main opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF, candidate, Joshua Osih in his application to the Council is seeking a total cancellation of the process.

ELECAM has fifteen day period to release results but opposition parties hold that it is largely a period during which results are manipulated. An Aspirant, Maurice Kamto claimed victory on Monday with a government response branding him as “irresponsible and lawless.”

Source: Africa News


October 7: Kamto Campaign calls on Cameroonians to defend victory

15, October 2018

October 7: Kamto Campaign calls on Cameroonians to defend victory 0

Some eight days after Prof Maurice Kamto of the MRC party declared himself winner of the October 7 presidential election, the Biya regime is still struggling to hold on to power. The Kamto Campaign has reportedly told the military to stop showing loyalty to the man tormenting the Cameroonian people.

At a well-attended press briefing in Yaoundé, the spokesman for the Kamto team said “Cameroonians would no longer tolerate such perversion of justice. Cameroonians of their own free will voted for Prof Maurice Kamto the presidential standard bearer of the MRC in the October 7th polls”

Information filtering from the National Vote-counting Commission relating to the results of the presidential elections is now indicating a landslide victory for the 85 year-old President Biya. MRC and the coalition that constituted itself around candidate Maurice Kamto have categorically rejected these results saying it has been fabricated with the help of some unmasked fake Transparency International observers.

The Kamto Campaign continues to claim victory in the election in conformity with the truth from the polling stations that was made available in the evening of October 7, 2018.  The Kamto Coalition has also rejected all forms of violence recently implored by the Biya regime and has also exhorted the Cameroonian people to remain vigilant and be ready to fight to protect their victory.

By Sama Ernest in Yaounde


Cameroon and Gabon polls were to prolong unpopular regimes of Biya and Ali Bongo

15, October 2018

Cameroon and Gabon polls were to prolong unpopular regimes of Biya and Ali Bongo 0

Following elections in Gabon and Cameroon last weekend, it has become clear that the two countries have several things in common.

The polls were expected to prolong unpopular and unstable regimes of Ali Bongo and Paul Biya respectively.

Whereas the oil-rich Gabon held long-delayed legislative and municipal elections on October 6, Cameroonians cast their presidential election ballots the following day.

The two nations are run by regimes that are well past their sell-by dates.

Pointedly, calls for the observance of constitutional term limits have been ignored in Gabon and Cameroon, with incumbents using all kind of tricks to remain in power.

Ali Bongo is the scion of Omar Bongo, who held sway in the country for decades, going down in history as one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

VICTORY

Indeed, the older Bongo is remembered for establishing a decades-old dynasty by dint of resisting democratic changes.

While Gabon has been ruled by the same political dynasty for almost half a century, Cameroon’s 85-year-old Biya has been in power since 1982!

But whereas he might have been sitting pretty in the past, political dynamics in Cameroon are rapidly changing. Biya is beginning to find it difficult to keep the volatile country on an even keel.

The situation is slightly different for Ali Bongo, whose ruling Gabonese Democratic Party claimed victory in the legislative poll “by a landslide”.

Even before the announcement of the final results, presidential spokesman Ike Ngouoni said Bongo’s party won 80 of the 143 parliamentary seats in the first round.

That claim should have been taken with a pinch of salt, given that some opposition candidates and witnesses said irregularities marred the poll.

RESULTS

The elections, incidentally boycotted by Bongo’s key rival Jean Ping, were the first ones since a presidential election marred by fraud claims and deadly violence two years ago.

Cameroon faces a long wait for the results, despite victory claims by opposition contender Maurice Kamto.

Kamto, who the is leader of the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon, said on Monday that he won the vote, triggering street celebrations.

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement accused Kamto of compromising peace.

Pointedly, the poll followed a last-minute attempt by a weak opposition to unite in a desperate bid to dislodge Biya.

Amid the drama, all indications are that Cameroon is headed for a long election dispute.

APATHY

That aside, there was an alarmingly low turnout in the conflict-torn anglophone regions, amid media reports that violence has been spiralling out of control.

“Turnout in the English-speaking regions has been low. Almost all the returns we have seen show a less than five per cent turnout,” International Crisis Group analyst Hans de Marie Heungoup said earlier in the week.

According to media reports, deaths and detentions have been the order of the day in the troubled areas, where the authorities have been cracking down on activists.

The army has been accused of shooting independence activists dead, burning unarmed civilians alive and other abuses.

Unfortunately, the country’s polling process is convoluted, with the final, official tally of the votes expected within 15 days from the date of the election.

Given that scenario, the country is likely to remain in the grip of tension for the coming week, with nobody able to foretell what will happen if Biya wins a seventh term.

Culled from Daily Nation



The contested election and the war in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia

15, October 2018

The contested election and the war in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia 0

Earlier this week, opposition candidate Maurice Kamto claimed election victory ahead of the official election results announcement. Unofficial and unverified election results numbers have flooded social media in Cameroon, which in the past the government has been accused of repressing internet freedom especially during election time. The early announcement by Kamto has been fueled with controversy escalating political tensions in the country.

Gregoire Owona, deputy secretary-general of the incumbent Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party, has accused Prof. Maurice Kamto of breaking the law by claiming victory prior to the release of official results. The votes are still being counted with many experts expecting President Paul Biya to return for a seventh term.

Internally displaced English speakers from Southern Cameroons find themselves stranded in their own country, afraid to go home, as the violence continues

Conflict in Southern Cameroons has forced hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes. English speakers in the region are demanding independence from a Francophone-dominated government. The government has rejected demands for independence, but has said it is open to talks.

Meanwhile, both sides of the conflict have been accused of human rights violations and those who have sought refuge inside the country want to return home, but are haunted by the horrors they have witnessed.

Compiled by Chi Prudence Asong


Burundi accuses Belgium of ordering hit on independence hero

14, October 2018

Burundi accuses Belgium of ordering hit on independence hero 0

Burundi on Sunday accused former colonial power Belgium of ordering the assassination of independence hero and Crown Prince Louis Rwagasore in 1961, a move likely to further poison ties between the two countries.

A government statement said Belgium was the “true backer of the assassination of Rwagasore”, in the first direct accusation over the murder by Bujumbura, which said it plans to probe the six-decade old incident.

The statement said that Brussels “has yet to explain itself” over the killing of Rwagasore, who played a key role in Burundi’s anti-colonial movement.

Rwagasore was named prime minister in the run up to independence, but was shot dead a month later by a Greek assassin accompanied by three Burundian members of a pro-Belgian party at a hotel in the capital — a little over a year before independence was achieved in July 1962.

He is one of Burundi’s most beloved heros, with his name gracing stadiums, schools and roads across the country.

In the statement, the government said it “plans to launch a technical commission to investigate the assassinations … of Rwagasore” and his two young children a few months later.

The Kingdom of Burundi, believed to date to the 17th century, came under German colonial rule in 1890, but was awarded by the League of Nations to Belgium after World War II.

Rwagasore was the eldest son of King Mwambutsa IV.

Burundi has been gripped by political crisis since President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in office in 2015, provoking severe civil unrest that has left at least 1,200 dead and displaced over 400,000 people.

In October 2016, Belgium withdrew its ambassador to Burundi and suspended several development projects, as Bujumbura’s relations with foreign allies worsened over the crisis.

The following month, the executive secretary of the ruling CNDD-FDD Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Belgium of “acting as if Burundi is still under its yoke,” on Twitter, after accusing it of backing the opposition.

 AFP



Ivorians vote in municipal and regional elections

14, October 2018

Ivorians vote in municipal and regional elections 0

People in Ivory Coast have cast their ballots in municipal and regional elections, which came less than two years before the country’s presidential election in 2020.

Most of the polling stations opened at 08:00 (local and GMT) on Saturday and closed at 18:00.

Over six and a half million Ivorians took part in the elections to choose nearly 200 mayors and 31 heads of regional councils.

About 30,000 police, gendarmes, and soldiers were deployed across the West African country to ensure security on election day.

About 400 independent candidates had registered for the elections.

Voters wait to cast their ballot in Ivory Coast’s regional and municipal elections at a polling station in Abidjan’s central business district of Plateau, on October 13, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

 

Tensions overshadowed the polls as the ruling RHDP coalition faced widespread divisions over who should be its candidate in the 2020 vote.

The two parties making up the ruling coalition — the RDR of President Alassane Dramane Ouattara, and the historically-dominant PDCI of former president Henri Konan Bedie — fielded rival candidates in many regions in the Saturday elections.

President of Ivory Coast Alassane Dramane Ouattara of the RDR Party casts his ballot during the country’s municipal and regional elections in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on October 13, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

 

Reports said scuffles and clashes took place in several localities as campaigning was carried out in a very tense atmosphere.

Two people were reportedly injured and a man was stabbed to death during clashes between rival political groups in the country’s south.

In other incidents, voting urns were smashed and torched in Bonoua, east of the commercial capital, Abidjan.

There are concerns an RHDP implosion would bring back violence and unrest ahead of the 2020 presidential elections.

Source: Presstv


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