The CPP, The Yaounde Declaration and The Way Forward

By Kah Walla

I had to go through and reread the Yaoundé Declaration to determine if some inopportune phrase had slipped in without my knowing.  As I observe the Minister of Communication (whose salary I and some 19 million plus other Cameroonians pay for with our taxes) go round the media organs to dictate editorial lines and buy the broadcasting of specific messages, as I read headlines which claim the “opposition has declared war”, as I listen to radio interviews where people are calling for “peace”, I had to go back and reread what I signed to ensure that somehow a phrase calling for war had not slipped into this declaration.

But no, I could find no such phrase.  There are currently armed forces all over the country. Cameroonians are under siege.  The question is why?  Here is a government that claims it organized elections well.  Tomorrow in all likelihood, the Supreme Court will announce that the vast majority of Cameroonians participated in these elections and that close to 80% of those who voted, voted for Paul Biya.  The remaining 20% of the vote has been divided up amongst the opposition parties.  We understand the CPP has been awarded a 6^th place position with less than 1%of the vote!! 

The elections were irregular and fraudulent on many different levels. 

Voters’ Register:  The voters’ register produced by ELECAM contained numerous names which appeared more than once, contained deceased persons names and at no point was this list corrected despite work that had been carried out to identify duplications and deceased persons.

Voters’ Cards: Many voters were in possession of two, three, and more cards.  ELECAM proved to be totally incapable of distributing voters’ cards.  Thousands of voters were unable to find their cards.  On voting day, people were still lined up outside ELECAM offices looking for their cards.  Cards were stacked in polling stations under little or no control.  As a result all across the country, people were caught with 20, 30 and even more cards.  They were using these cards to vote multiple times. 

Indelible Ink: Each person who votes is supposed to make a thumbprint with indelible ink on their voter’s card.  The indelible ink on their thumb, is supposed to serve as a control mechanism, prohibiting people from voting more than once.  The ink used on October 9^th could be rubbed off the thumb without the use of water or soap.  With thousands of voters’ cards floating around under no control, it was no accident that all over the country people were caught voting 15, 20, 28 and more times. 

Polling Agents: Undoubtedly, opposition parties were unable to cover all 24,000 polling stations.  However, for the polling stations they could cover, opposition parties saw their polling agents refused entry and/or chased out of the polling stations at various stages in the voting process.  As a result, no opposition party has complete minutes from the electoral process.  No one is able to provide viable alternative figures to the ones the process has cooked up.

Buying and Intimidating Voters:  Across the country there are reports of the CPDM buying and intimidating voters.  Witnesses report voters received money for voting for the CPDM candidate and in rural areas; older persons were given just one ballot to put into their envelope and intimidated to vote for the CPDM candidate.

 These are just a few examples of the widespread fraud that led the CPP to join six other political parties (SDF, CDU, La Dynamique, PAP, AFP, PADDEC) in signing the Yaoundé Declaration.  This declaration calls for three key points:

1.       The cancellation of the October 9^th election.

2.       Immediate work to begin on electoral system reform in order to develop a consensual system that includes: a unique electoral code, a truly independent electoral commission, effective use of technology to ensure transparency and security in the process.

3.        The organization of new presidential elections within the next 6 months.

In addition, the seven signatories asked the Cameroonian population to come out and demonstrate for their right to free and fair elections, should the Supreme Court persist in announcing the results of the October 9^th election.

The CPDM government propaganda machine, has transformed this call for Cameroonians to stand up for their rights into a call for war.  The government has deployed armed forces throughout the country and in several cities has banned all public protests.  A state-sponsored intimidation machine has been deployed throughout the national territory on the pretext that the opposition has called for “war”. 

Neither the CPP, nor any other opposition parties has called for any form of violence activity.  We have called on Cameroonians to demonstrate peacefully in defence of their right to free and fair elections.  The right to demonstrate is a fundamental democratic right which is guaranteed to Cameroonians.  It is one which in our opinion, Cameroonians must defend the right to exercise, no matter what type of intimidation they face. 

The Supreme Court has rejected all the requests for cancellation that were before it.  It will pronounce the results of the election tomorrow October 21^st.  The CPP stands by the its right and the right of all Cameroonians to demonstrate peacefully against this violation of their right to free and fair elections. 

The Way Forward

Following the October 9, 2011 elections, the CPP has determined that we must refocus on the fundamentals that will enable us to bring about political change in Cameroon.  We have determined these to be:

·         Electoral System Reform

·         Building a political force that is informed, trained and capable of carrying out political action at various levels. 

The CPP will be focusing on these key objectives going forward.  We remain determined to bring about democratic change in Cameroon and ensuring the change of leadership at the head of our country.  The Time is still Now!

Comments

[Marie]

The irony is that Ni John Fru Ndi and his gang of blind supporters, included his "internet prophets of doom and distortion" (names withheld) complain that Paul Biya has been president for long and must be ejected from the presidency. They however pretend not to acknowledge the fact that Ni John Fru Ndi, too, has been for long as chairman and presidential candidate of the SDF. They are so one sided, narrow minded, sentimental, tribalistic and shameless that they continue to defend Ni John Fru Ndi who is actually eating from Biya's table, sustaining and supporting Biya and preventing others from ejecting Biya from the presidency. These Internet professionals in public manipulation and apparent owners of knowledge would cry loud and loud before presidential elections, and would climb on any "trouble-makers" who dare criticize Cameroon's second (after Biya) butcher of democracy, Ni John Fru Ndi. Now that election results have been released and we all expected, these Internet cry-diers" have gone into hidding, of course after hitting their heads against the rock and forcing hot red bile to flow into their eyes and heart. Will they be able to see the light and grow? Will they too be able to tell Ni John Fru Ndi in his face to "get behind me"?

I look forward to reading the "declaration" that these "Internet sellers of Illusion" are drafting in hibernation. Cameroonians have been fooled but they can not be fooled always. Ni John Fru Ndi has not seen anything yet. The "thunder" will be loud and humiliating during and after the coming legislative elections. That will be his final down fall. But will Ni John Fru Ndi openly get "married" to Paul, carrying the SDF along to the CPDM? Will he continue to be main opposition leader, pretending to criticize Paul Biya but at the same time eating in darkness and protecting Biya? Let us wait and see.

And what miracle it would have been if Ni John Fru Ndi could have just a single drop of good faith still existing in him ...

Marie