Beyond the Partisan Rhetoric: Issues and Questions about Cameroon’s Diaspora Voting Act (I)

By Dibussi Tande

On July 9, 2011, Cameroon’s parliament adopted a bill granting Cameroonians abroad the right to vote in presidential elections and referendum organized in Cameroon.

 
Symbolic vote of the Cameroonian Diaspora at the Esplanade du Trocadéro in Paris in July 2007 (c) Le Code

On June 13, President Biya signed it into law, thereby complying with a demand, which along with calls for the recognition of dual citizenship, had been at the center of the political demands of Cameroonians abroad for years. The new political dispensation has been received with mixed feelings within the Diaspora community with many arguing that the law falls short of expectations  and does not resolve the systemic issues around organizing elections in Cameroon.

On the other hand, the Biya regime and its supporters have hailed the law as a landmark moment for Cameroonian democracy, which shores up the President’s democratic credentials.

Whatever the legitimacy of these competing claims, it is obvious that the debate over the Diaspora voting act is largely, if not primarily, driven by partisan politics. It is yet to become a dispassionate discussion about what is really needed to make the vote of Cameroonians abroad a credible and inclusive one that enriches the democratic process in Cameroon.

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