ELECTIONS-FRAUD-PEACE: The Cameroon Blend

By Roland Abeng - Barrister at Law
The stage had long been prepared for the outcome of the October 9th presidential elections in Cameroon.  The Law creating Elections Cameroon and its subsequent modifications which diluted the powers of the institution; the 2008 constitutional amendment removing presidential mandate limits; and, of course, the “PEOPLE’S CALL” for president Biya to stand as candidate for the elections are just some of the acts that helped seal the outcome of the October 9th event.

From a look at the events that led to the elections and its outcome, not even a unique opposition candidate would have changed the outcome.  The “official” result proclaimed on October 21 is evidence of this assertion! With a score of almost 78% of the votes cast in favour of Biya, a run-off would not have been necessary even if Cameroonian Law provided such an opportunity.  The ruling party had arranged to have the proclaimed score by all crooked means possible, even before the elections.

Elections Cameroon - ELECAM
Cameroon has, for far too many years, been associated with corruption, bad governance, election rigging and all the other ills that are contrary to the Millennium Development Goals. Various indices that are published yearly attest to this. What has been absolutely shocking to most Cameroonians with regards to these elections is the dishonest role that newly created ELECAM has played and continues to play at the highest level, in complicity with the government and the ruling CPDM party. Not that one expected a complete shift from the old ways of the Ministry of Territorial administration, which hitherto organized elections… But Cameroonians are now filled with a heightened sense of crystallized betrayed by ELECAM; a body which they thought would improve on the way elections are organized and conducted in Cameroon.

Cameroonians wanted to give ELECAM a chance even when almost all its members were from the ruling party. More than that, Cameroonians recall the four young men arrested at the Yaoundé Nsimalen airport in January 2009 (Frankline Gana Ndaga, Cyril Kpuye, JC Akina and Dominic Nkongho Ewang). All four pointed at Dr. FONKAM Azu’u as the one who facilitated their obtaining U.S visas by providing them with fake mission orders. 

The young men were not only consistent in their claim that they paid FCFA 3 million each to Dr. Fonkam to have the fake documents, they  made more incriminating statements against the ELECAM boss. This is the person that heads the institution that manages elections in Cameroon.  How could anyone question the assertions of Cameroon’s minister of territorial administration in wiki leaks, quoted as saying “ELECAM officials are corrupt and are only in for money.” You are probably asking the same question I have on my mind: How much has Dr. Fonkam and his gang made from these elections?

One South West regional ELECAM official exclaimed when he heard the final score of Hon. Ayah Paul Abine’s PAP (read by the Supreme Court president) in the South West Province. He said “My bosses in Yaoundé have “doctored” the results exaggeratedly!!” He confessed that they had “touched” the results in favour of the CPDM party, but the results sheets that were sent to Yaoundé still had the PAP party leading in Manyu Division. He was shocked by what he heard as AYAH’s score from the president of the Supreme Court. Also, participation in his region was less than 40%.  ELECAM “doctored” the participation figures to almost 80%!

Cameroonians, as well as foreign observers, could forgive ELECAM for some of the lapses that surrounded the electoral process, but not for changing the figures of the results in favour of a Candidate. The question that comes to mind is: why should ELECAM manifest fraud in such a manner when it is clear that even with 40% of the votes Biya would still have won?

In 1992 Biya was declared “winner” with less than 40%! Why should ELECAM change the percentage participation from less than 38% to more than 65% when even results from Biya’s polling station indicate that 89 voted out of 414 registered voters! The answer to these preceding questions was advanced by a journalist of the government newspaper Cameroon Tribune.  “As the PEOPLES CHOICE,” the journalist opined, “the “organizers” of the elections had to show proof not only that there was massive participation at the polls but also that BIYA was plebiscited.” So be it! The official results are what we now know: Biya 77.9 % and the rest shared by the other opposition candidates.

PEACE
Opinion polls (which can sometimes be very deceptive) show less than 2 out of every 10 Cameroonians do not consider the proclaimed results a true reflection of the election results. It is a known fact that riots of February 2008 were connected to the disapproval of the street to Biya’s 2008 constitutional amendment project, passed into law thanks to a parliament dominated by his political party.

Some of his close collaborators, in justifying Biya’s 2008 constitutional amendment, say that it was high time the Head of state bring to an end the in-fighting that had commenced within his ranks as his close collaborators had started positioning themselves as possible presidential candidates. This, according to the handlers, was having a serious impact on the party and governmental cohesion. It is said that a pseudo presidential Campaign had already begun amongst CPDM big wigs that thought and expected Biya not to stand because the then constitution did not permit him to. It is at the backdrop of all of the above AND MORE that Biya has been proclaimed President for the next 7 years after 29 years in power.

The Frustration of Cameroonians is total and the apparent calm throughout the country betrays this frustration. The authorities know that the frustration, anger and tension are at fever pitch. It explains the strong military presence in all of Cameroon’s big towns, especially Yaoundé and Douala. The declared victors of this election are not celebrating, probably because they know there is indeed nothing to celebrate and also because celebrating might provoke the declared losers of the elections who might just be looking for a final reason to go to the streets in protest. Someone put it in these terms: “the situation is disturbing because the winners are not celebrating and the losers are not crying”.  Public manifestations and meetings are cancelled in Douala – Cameroon’s economic capital - and in many other towns of the country till further notice. Most households have done shopping and stocked foodstuff to last them a few weeks just in case violence erupts.

How can an entire country be militarized and public meetings banned when the citizens “overwhelmingly” voted for their “champion”, who is no one else but the incumbent president?  As I write this article no Cameroonian has gone to the street to protest against the proclaimed results despite calls by some opposition candidates to that effect. The authorities know more than anyone else that the absence of street protests does not mean the absence of frustration. But they expect time to quell the tension and anger that has gripped the population as was the case after the 1992 presidential and subsequent elections.

Truth is, time has not played in favour of African dictators in the recent past and revolutions now erupt from areas or events least expected. Biya can however relax for the time being…current opinion polls show that 7 out of every 10 Cameroonians prefer the “BIYA EVIL” for the time being than go to the streets in protest. The question is “FOR HOW LONG”?

Comments

[Fointama Che]

Barrister Roland Abeng's appraisal of the prevailing situation depicts the situation in Cameroon today a few days after the elections results where proclaimed.

Cameroon's minister of external relations reaction to comments from both the French and American diplomatic missions highlighting some irregularities in the just organised election proves even the state is walking a tight rope .
Minister Eyebe Ayissi declared Cameroon had no lessons to take from these foreign powers and that they have a right to their opinions.

It is worth noting that the french foreign ministry after the voting had described the process as acceptable .A few days later the change in opinion gives room to worry about the next couple of weeks.The only advice at this time is to remain vigilant.

[Fon Emmanuel]

I am apprehensive of what is going to happen in Cameroon in the near future.

I went to bed last night and a thought came to my mind. It is rather very strange the way Cameroonians took these results. Infact when they were about to begin reading the results I talked to someone in Bamenda who told me that since the results were already a forgone conclusion they were just on standby to see what would be next. Infact he was to travel to pick up something in Douala the following day but he postponed it indefinitely because he was not too sure of the stability in Cameroon after the results were read. Indeed as a typical Bamenda man he was very adamant that something explosive was in the air and he said they could cut the tension in the air with knife. But to everyone's shock even those excitement seeking youths who were spoiling for a showdown with the police and gendarmes were, in their wildest imagination, not expecting this anti climax.
You see, let me not stretch the mater any further but I think it is neccesary to wonder what the problem could be. Indeed the opposition leaders who sat and took the decision might not all have the substantial following that the SDF has but they as individuals are political heavy weights who cannot be qualified only through the number of their party membership. These are people who without the benefit of any party bakcing can still move the population. They have their personal credentials to back them up. There is no way anybody can tell me that Adamu Ndam Njoya would not succeed to encourage his NOUN regional followers to raise a finger in support. They have been incredibly and solidly loyal to him since the creation of the CDU. I can say this too of Garga Harman Adji. Kah Wallah a new kid on the block has amassed a good number of converts especially the disappointed returnees from the diaspora and those still living abroad as well. Their numbers might not be impressive but they can weild a substantial influence on the political scene. I don't want to talk much about the SDF because we all know their support base already regardless of personal opinions. But I can still say this little about the SDF. They still have die heart supporters in and out of the country.
If you asked an average Cameroonian what the outcome of the elections would be before and immediately after voting100% would have accepted that a CPDM victory was a forgone conclusion. So why did they bother to vote for something they did not like and already knew the results? The answer has always been simple to come by. Like in every other election, Cameroonians have always hoped that the results regardless in whose favour they were would always be used as a platform to forge a political compromise that would change the direction of the country for the better. This opinion was further heightened by the meeting between Mr John Fru Ndi and Mr Biya. But the way I see it now Cameroonians are in shock to realise that even at this last moment - the last of Mr Biya's numerous terms in office the CPDM is still unwilling to change the politics of Cameroon. They have insisted on outplaying the opposition for their greedy ambitions with no clear future for the country in the horizens.
Infact nobody can convnce me that among all these opposition parties I just mentioned not even one die hard member made any move - not even to publicly condemn anything?
I am not trying to say there is any covert operation underway to destabilize the status quo. I am not sure about that. But the calmness of the waters is suspect. A people of diverse opinions cannot just all of a sudden feel the same way from such an automatic and almost magical point of departure. It seemed as if a spell has been cast on all Cameroonians. So what I cannot understand up to this moment is why even a sinlge fly did not attempt anything before being crushed by the overwhelming military presence on the streets. Even just a feeble attempt would have ironically played in the favour of the CPDM party, - that infact an insignificant minority were disstisfied with the oucome but popular opinion won the day. But this kind of "general acceptance" of a political outcome is unreal. It is cosmetic. It is not African.
I will like everybody to be on the look out. The future does not seem very pretty. I might be wrong, and I really hope I am, to believe that even though there does not seem to be any underground movement anywhere, it will take more than any current CPDM modus operandi to put a check on what lies ahead for Cameroon. I don't think any single party or organisation will be able to take matters into its own hands this time around. If the amount of disbelief, uncertainty, and above all confusion in the minds of Cameroonians now is manifested in like proportions on the streets of Cameroon today, no military will control it. The reason is simple. There is no one man in charge today except the confusion in the minds of the people I don't see anybody today capable of ordering the Cameroon people into or out of the streets - and that is not a good feeling.
MAY GOD BLESS CAMEROON
FEN