Cameroon is preparing itself to host, in October 2011 the next crucial presidential elections even the results are already known. The results are already known because of the weakness and the disappearance of the mainstream opposition parties and the disappointment surrounding the management of these opposition parties by theirs leaders.
Those leaders have never accepted to use the ballot vote as a test for their presidency. None of the mainstream opposition parties leaders in Cameroon had openly decided to go for a confidence vote by his members. They all act and behave like Paul Biya within the Cameroon People Democratic Movement (CPDM).
Could John Fru Ndi make the last move? The Social Democratic Front of Ni John Fru Ndi has never had an election to chose another leader who can succeed him, even there are more and more courageous and serious candidates in the party who might do the job.
Mainstream opposition parties leaders have felt the confidence vote and are not yet ready to stand down to encourage others to take over the control of the party.
With now a population of more than 19 millions in Cameroon and with only around between 10 and 13 millions eligible to vote if registered on time, the (CPDM) might already have almost more than 6 millions yes vote according to unchecked officials information and records from the Home Office and the rest to be shared between the opposition parties.
Bello Bouba Maigari from the (UNDP) , Adamou Ndam Njoya from the (UDC) , Augustin Frederick Kodock from one branch of the (UPC) , Issa Tchirouma Bakari, and many more worked as Biya government ministers and were sacked after losing regional elections in their own constituencies long time ago.
And now are sitting on the back benches in the Parliament with some even sitting on the front bench of the opposition.
Fru Ndi here is the only mainstream leader who has never ever worked for Biya administration and his the one who, 13 years ago would have been elected as president to take over Biya leadership. The real problem is that he is not yet ready to deal with those who worked for Biya before and who are in the opposition now. He wants to deal with those who can just assist him in winning the election and then must have to wait to share the power.
Biya administration has a huge mechanism to bribe opponents in order to self-destroy each others. Behind the political scene in Cameroon there are Britain, France, USA, Canada, China, Russia, Japan, Italy, Israel, etc.. are hoping to see a new leader emerging from the next presidential election. Diplomatically they can not express themselves publicly and share their views because of the diplomatic cooperation clause that bide their country and Cameroon.
Elections are undoubtedly synonymous with democracy. And democracy is undoubtedly synonymous with press freedom ,freedom of information and expression freedom .
Unfortunately in Cameroon under Biya administration, it would take much more than a regional election or a presidential election to ensure democracy is an ongoing success.
Elections are both technical and political, and a good working democracy requires a fine balance of both. In Cameroon that balance does not exist and it is more political than technical.A technically sound election will not have a successful outcome if political turmoil exists, while political goodwill is not necessarily the precursor to success either.
Technical assistance that takes into account the full electoral process is critical. The national constitution provides the foundations for any electoral system. If this fails to support the democratic imperatives attached to an election then the whole process is likely to suffer.
Paul Biya has changed the national constitution in order to regain control over the power and seize it with the help of his war council of leaders of the armed forces.
The next step is to secure an electoral management body (EMB). This is generally made up of individuals from a variety of political, ethnic, and regional affiliations.
For instance, the inclusion of women, civil society representatives and members of faith-based groups will give the EMB a suitable level of independence.
There have been calls for an internationally accepted system of electoral certification of EMB’s, as a means of improving electoral administration.
The concern here is that a ‘one size fits all’ system will not take into account the different contexts and cultural realities of countries and their people. France, Britain and USA are funding program in Cameroon to improve the independence function of that electoral management body and the total independence of the judiciary system as well. .
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