CPDM Crime Syndicate: ELECAM defends UN partnership amid interference allegations 0

Elections Cameroon (Elecam) rejected calls from the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) and the United Party for Social Renovation (PURS) to hand over election management to an outside group. Elecam signed a CFA3 billion technical assistance deal with the United Nations but insisted it will keep full control.

Enow Abrams Egbe, Chairman of Elecam’s Electoral Council, said, “It is important to specify that in Cameroon, electoral operations are entirely financed by the public treasury.”

The agreement, signed on May 9 in Yaoundé, aims to tap into the UN’s “proven electoral expertise.” It follows a recent African Union mission in Yaoundé from May 12 to 17 to explore electoral cooperation. Egbe explained that the UN assistance will involve six agencies, including UNDP, UN Women, and UNESCO. The support covers the 2025-2027 electoral cycle, which includes the presidential election, regional council elections, and the legislative and municipal polls.

The MRC and PURS sharply criticized the deal. On May 14, Maurice Kamto’s MRC called the initiative risky and warned of a repeat of the 2010 post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. The party said, “Africans in general, and Cameroonians in particular, still remember the UN’s regrettable interference in the electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire in December 2010, which helped to accelerate one of the worst post-electoral crisis in Africa in the 21st century, resulting in thousands of deaths and the desolation of many Ivorian families.”

The MRC also condemned the secrecy around the agreement, noting, “several days after the signing, neither Elecam nor UN officials deemed it necessary to officially communicate on this event.” The party called the timing “unseemly,” especially as the presidential election campaign period approaches.

PURS, led by Serge Espoir Matomba, echoed the criticism. In a May 16 statement, the party “vigorously denounces the interference of the United Nations in Cameroon’s electoral process.” PURS warned that the move threatens national sovereignty. The party asked, “Why is the United Nations, which has never resolved an electoral crisis, intervening here and now?” It added, “How can we understand that in the 21st century, a sovereign country still accepts such foreign tutelage?” PURS called for “a Cameroonian electoral system that responds to the interests and respects the will of the Cameroonian people.”

Despite the backlash, Egbe stood firm. He signed the agreement alongside Issa Sanogo, the UN resident coordinator in Cameroon. Egbe urged Elecam’s mixed commission members to “become more involved in the implementation of the 2025-2027 electoral cycle.”

Source: Business in Cameroon