Cameroon opposition boycotts elections

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=351442&rel_no=1

The deadline for all parties in Cameroon to register at the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT) for participation in general elections in June expired on Tuesday. All the major opposition parties are boycotting the elections in protest of poor electoral laws and registration processes that make it very susceptible to the massive fraud by the government that has characterized past elections in Cameroon. It was also the deadline for the parties to indicate the design of their ballot papers.

State radio, CRTV, reported that of 207 legalized political parties in the country only 90 had registered, almost all of them movements allied to the Biya regime. The station, however, said that a senior official from MINAT, speaking on condition of anonymity, had indicated that the ministry was contemplating postponing the deadline by one more month, during which time it would initiate a constructive dialogue with the opposition.
 
Despite enormous assurances to the international community by the Biya government last year, notably the Commonwealth Francophonie (International Organization of French-speaking Communities) and most Western countries, that the upcoming general elections would be organized by a new independent electoral management body, dubbed Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), and that the whole electoral process would be computerized, the government, now that the electoral calendar is drawing closer, has made an about-face and returned to its old ways, swallowing its own promises as expected. Although ELECAM was recently voted by the country's parliament and promulgated into law as the new management board, the government has ruled out its participation in organizing elections because of costs.

When the government's intentions became apparent, the three major opposition parties - the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU) and the National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP) - warned that they would boycott the poll unless ELECAM was given a free hand. Their plea definitely fell on deaf ears, as the Biya regime instead fortified its traditional fraudulent elections apparatus, under the supervisory authority of the MINAT.

The leader of the front line opposition party, Ni John Fru Ndi, speaking during a press conference in Yaounde on March 14 warned that only free and fair elections would free Cameroon from bloodshed. Unlike most countries in Africa, Cameroon has enjoyed peace since independence in 1960. Fru Ndi further called on the government to postpone elections until November to give time for the results of the national census that has been conducted since November 2005 to be released. Fru Ndi said the results of the census are crucial because of the need to relocate parliamentary seats and enlarge councils and administrative constituencies. The present parliament has 180 deputies. The 1996 constitution also provides for 100 senators, but so far, they exist only on paper.

During his press conference, Fru Ndi warned that Cameroonians are fed up with election irregularities and would no longer tolerate the rigging machinery that the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) regime has put in place. "For quite some time now, Cameroon has aligned the year of other institutions with the civil year. It will be necessary, therefore, to adjust the date of the elections to enable the first session of the newly elected parliament to start in March, which is the first session of the legislative year, and also give adequate time to the newly appointed members of ELECAM to master the electoral process," Fru Ndi said.

Elections in Cameroon in the past have been organized by the MINAT, under the eyes of the government's toothless watchdog, the National Elections Observatory. However, every poll has been characterized by massive fraud in favor of Biya and his ruling party. It is worth noting that Biya, in power since 1982, has changed the constitution on two occasions in order to remain in office. With over 60 percent of the population living on less than a dollar a day, many disgruntled university graduates have left the country in search of greener pastures abroad.

To legitimize his regime, which is dominated by his Ewondo-Bulu clan (70 percent of all ministers are from his tribe), his government has sponsored the creation of over 120 political parties, most of them usually on the eve of an election. The leaders of these parties initially claim to be in the race, but about a week before the elections, they withdraw, calling on their supporters to cast their votes for Biya.

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