By Joe Dinga Pefok
The Administrative Bench of the Supreme Court in Yaounde on October 17, dismissed Françoise Foning's petition demanding the disqualification of the SDF party for the October 26 municipal re-runs in Douala V.
Foning in the petition purported that one of the SDF candidates was involved in electoral fraud.The petition prepared and deposited by Barrister Michel Penka, who is also a member of the CPDM campaign team for Douala V, alleges that an SDF candidate, Gabriel Wato (No. 27 on the SDF list), had fraudulently registered as a voter in two electoral registers - Douala V and Douala I.
But the Supreme Court rejected Foning's petition on grounds that competent administrative officials had before the July 22, 2007 twin elections, duly examined and validated the electoral registers.The court noted that since there has been no fresh registration of voters so far, it means that the electoral registers have remained intact.
Foning, it is reported, had quietly filed the petition, without the SDF knowing.The information about the petition only first went public on October 17, when a French language daily, Le Jour, hit the stands with the story as its lead.
Barrister Penka was quoted to have told the paper that he and his client had decided not to disclose the name, until the matter came up in court.On a marathon visit to different newsrooms in Douala, Wato had cried out his innocence. He swore that he had never, not even in his dreams, registered his name in the electoral register or any register connected with elections in Douala I.
Wato vowed that he was going to counter-sue Foning for defamation. He also said that he was filing a petition against Barrister Penka for defamation too, to the President of the Bar Council.
Meanwhile, the SDF Littoral Provincial Chairman, Jean Michel Nintcheu, who told reporters that his party was to make an official statement on the issue later, accused Foning of diversionary tactics and malicious intrigue.
He said Foning wanted to take divert the attention of the SDF from the ongoing election campaigns, since she knows the reality of the situation, which is that the CPDM cannot genuinely win an election in Douala V.
Following the petition, Wato had to abandon campaign to travel to Yaounde, since the case had to come up for the first time at the Supreme Court on October 17.He was reportedly accompanied by one of the legal advisers of the SDF, Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam (Vice President of the National Assembly).
Warning To SDF
Meanwhile, in a telephone interview over "Radio Equinoxe" on October 18, Foning said she and her party always respect court decisions as patriots.She, however, said her going to court has also served as a warning to the SDF, that it does not have the monopoly of filing petitions at the Supreme Court, against the CPDM.
Foning hinted on the possibility of dragging the SDF again to court if she losses the re-runs.
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