Flawed Senatorial Polls: SDF Barred from Campaigning

By Teche Nyamusa (SDF Parliamentary Aspirant for Mbengwi)  
Fraud, elections rigging are CPDM trademark considering her past! We (SDF) complained of the irregularities before Election Day to polls monitoring body, ELECAM.

The 14^th April, 2013 Senatorial elections in North West Region of Cameroon witnessed unprecedented and open absurd rigging – blocking of the SDF party from campaigning to CPDM councillors. Our complaint to ELECAM failed on deaf ears.

The CPDM party and candidates had easy access to SDF municipal councilors but theirs (CPDM Councilors) were quarantined and bribe

These otherwise important grassroots politicians have hitherto been treated as paupers. In governments, for example Nigeria, where local government is well developed, they are paid a good monthly salary. Curiously in Cameroon the CPDM government makes councillors work stipend-free. However for the purpose of the April 14^th Senatorial poll there were bribed each with about five hundred thousand francs (FCFA 500.000) by CPDM party candidates – municipal councilors now are the only members of the Electoral College for the senatorial in Cameroon. The 1996 constitution stipulates that senators have as electoral college both municipal councilors and regional councilors but true to Biya’s queer attitude of governance, regional councilors will be put in place progressively even if it takes 50 years !

          The North West Region had two political parties – SDF and CPDM contesting the 2013 Senatorial seats. A meager sum of FCFA 5 million was given to each party per Region for campaigns. This amount could hardly be enough for campaign posters, transportation to and fro the villages of the various divisions and subdivisions. However, for the ruling CPDM party, no one doubts her illogical privileged position – the party is indistinguishable from the government. As such she has unreserved access to the state treasury - a sum of money capable of beating the councilors’ rational reasoning is said to have been withdrawn for their bribe. This conscience influencing sums believed to be withdrawn by CPDM solo without concern of constituted authorities which include her adversary, SDF tantamount to rigging and imminent trouble. The outcome of such manipulated polls? – Well Cameroonians await the official results from the Supreme Court who is given the right to proclaim them. Definitely, however the SDF in particular and Cameroonians in general will not accept such open cheating in favour of CPDM Senatorial list in North West. Caging of councilors so that SDF has no people to campaign to is rigging. National Identity Cards were purportedly confiscated from some electors for fear of their being used for their proxy votes or other reasons.

On another front, Cameroonians are calling on the country’s lawyers and legal minds as well as others to be part of the democratization process of the nation. Lawyers they maintained should challenge, by litigations, any irregularity in governance - elections, business … as obtained in other countries. Meanwhile the barefaced cheating at North West Senatorial elections is an issue that is difficult to be pardoned!   

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