By Francis Tim Mbom
Polling came to a halt a polling station in Mile Four (Bonadikombo) when the Chairman of the station chased away two APF agents.
Kingsley Assem, one of the agents, told The Post that they had, on three occasions, been sent away on grounds that they tried to prevent the Chairman, a CPDM adherent, from allowing some people to vote without their ID cards.
But according to the Chairman, who refused to give his name, the APF agents were not the ones designated by their party.However, one Frederick Babila, who was called in to intervene, said he had designated Assem and Pamela Chineh to oversee the elections there, when they discovered that those initially designated had travelled out of town. Assem and Chineh were later reinstated.
In Mokunda village, the SDF Limbe District Chairman, Martin Esingila, told The Post that at about midday, the representative for one of the polling stations there was only reinstated in the Supervisory Commission of the station at about 11 am.
Marie Namondo Wefonge alongside the representative of the APF, said she had earlier on in the morning been barred from sitting in the polling station Commission assigned to oversee the voting process.
Some three km away from Limbe at a polling station in Mokunda village, representatives of the SDF and APF parties were reportedly also barred by their CPDM counterparts from taking part in controlling the voting exercise.
Irregularities
Generally, elections in Limbe were characterised by multiple voting by youths allegedly hired by the CPDM party.At a polling station in GS Bota, Middle Farms, an alleged female ambulant voter was caught with a spare card as she was apparently on her way to vote a second time.
Assistant Secretary General of the APF party, Frederick Babila, intercepted the girl and seized the card. Asked whose card it was, her reply was: "It is the card of my twin brother."
Pressured to disclose the name of her twin brother, she said it was Felix Atem. But the card that had been seized from her, instead bore the name Nzille Boul De E, with mother's name as Asoh and father's as Ekomi Aaron.
At the CDC Bota Labour Club, there were similar complaints of multiple voting.The Post gathered that several youths had been allowed to vote without presenting their national ID cards as provided for by the law.
Down at Mile 7, a remote settlement inhabited by CDC workers at the entrance to Limbe, a polling agent hinted The Post that many "ambulant voters" had been ferried in from Bonadikombo by one Kountcho in his vehicle and that they had voted there.
But the Police Commissioner for Limbe, John Ngale Makamba, who had just visited the polling station, minutes before The Post arrived there, said he had been informed that some SDF elements came in a bus and tried to disrupt the polling.
The DO of Limbe, Peter Itoe Mbongo, is said to have been called in before some order was restored.But there were still lingering doubts if the representative of the APF party was ever allowed in.
Babila of the APF party told The Post that he was threatened with death when he went there to see about the problem.The law holds that each party taking part in the election(s) in each constituency has the right to assign a representative to every polling station to assist in overseeing the conduct of the vote for purposes of transparency, fairness and freedom.
Missing Names
Several voters could not find their names on the voters' lists.At CBC Bonadikombo, a certain Miranda Mbome told The Post that she had personally registered the names of her name and her husband's but that she was surprised to find only her husband's name on the list.
Except for a few polling stations whose chairmen came for collected their own ballot materials at the DO's office, voting, however, started off normally in the early hours of the morning.
Nonetheless, several people went just to discover that some other persons had already voted in their places.
SDF, CPDM Neck To Neck
Results trends from the twin polls in Limbe showed that the battle was a matter to be decided between the SDF and the CPDM party.From the few field results we got at press time, the SDF was leading in most of the polling stations located in the town centre.
Meanwhile, the CPDM was grabbing votes in remote areas.In one of the polling stations close to the SDF Secretariat, Phytosanitary Base Office (A), the party got 134 votes against 64 for the CPDM.
In the legislatives, the results read 126 for the SDF and 66 for the CPDM while the AFP party got six votes. Meanwhile, the results for the legislatives at the Limbola Community Hall, a remote settlement after SONARA in Limbe II, put the CPDM ahead with 53 votes against seven for the SDF.
Meantime, at the Fako Divisional Supervisory office, The Post was told that the full results could only be got as from Monday.From the Fako Divisional office of NEO, The Post learned that a total of 108,052 voters registered across Fako: Buea, 30,638 registered with 1,333 polling stations; Tiko, 25,788 registered with 92 polling stations; Muyuka, 21,422 with 86 polling stations; Limbe I, 17,695 with 66 polling stations; Limbe II, 5,917 with 27 polling stations; Limbe III, 3,150 with 13 polling stations and Idenau, 3,442 with 20 polling stations.
The turnout in most of the polling stations was, however, not encouraging.At the Phytosanitory Base office (Casava Farms) polling station B, 406 voters registered, but only 174 voted, far below 50 percent.
maybe our dear country needs to upgrade to electronic voting and then we can have free and fair elections. After every elections, there is always trouble, fights here and there. We kill our own brothers and sisters without looking to see who the main person/enemy is. We all know why people support CPDM, because they want to be eating free money and using the country's funds to make themselves rich. Why do people go to opposition parties? Because they want another opportunity, they want their voices heard. The questions we need to ask ourselves are," do we really want change? and if we do, why not team up as one big opposition party and fight against the CPDM? Teaming up here, will mean we are fighting for a common goal and course. As a southern Cameroonian, I believe to avoid all the conflicts we need to come as one and as southern Cameroonians not as SDF or ADP or whatever.We need one voice not many voices. Many voices will be like throwing water on a ducks back. common people, Do NOT FIGHT AMONG YOURSELVES, lest the common enemy will watch you and laugh and say; "look at those fools. They are fighting and arguing and killing themselves while I am enjoying their money."
Posted by: shiningstar | Tuesday, 24 July 2007 at 10:28 AM
Last time la republique so blatantly rigged and manipulated elections, there was an increase of SDF people who became active members of the Southern Cameroons cause. We welcome wounded idealists back home. The cause might take some time, but we are not fooling ourselves that we are part of the fabric of la republique and could rule Yaounde. Rule Yde? Who came up with that one.
Posted by: Ma Mary | Tuesday, 24 July 2007 at 11:40 PM
So sad to read such comments.It is time cameroonians accept that whether there is fraud or no fraud, the CPDM has a majority in Cameroon.The SDF had one chance but they did not use it.What cameroon needs is someone who is not self-centered and someone who has a vision.Someone who can gather masses, someone who can impliment changes.
I want to say that Cameroonians don't like change.Look at the houses,look at the roads, look at the market,.Since when I was a boy till today nothing has changed.Our living standards are poor.We are all tho blame for that.Because we are all innocent, we blame the Government.Change begins at home.Let us forget this talk about SCNC or CPDM and think first about our attitude.We should change our ways of thinking, improve or ways of living,impove our surroundings then think about changing the nation.SCNC.Who are they? Who is are their leaders? what are their plans?What have their achieved before.These are the very people who will stay in government the next 25 years when they are elected to rule Cameroon.Just look at SDF, no democracy since they started.John Fru Ndi is till leader after so years as chairman.I hear the same names every year,Ndam Njoya, FRU Ndi etc,What role are the youths playing in politics in Cameroon today?have they also been brain watched by the opposition?Wake up guys.
Posted by: limbeson | Thursday, 26 July 2007 at 07:21 AM