Kah Walla: “There was rampant fraud by the CPDM as well as poor technical management by ELECAM”

Dear Friends,

What an extraordinary ride so far.  At the end of yesterday’s election, we can definitely say that the Cameroon People’s Party (CPP) has created a new political dynamic in Cameroon.

First a huge thank you to all of you from all the corners of Cameroon and from all the corners of the world, who made this possible.  We have completely changed the way Cameroonian politics are conceived, perceived and practiced.  Inside and outside the country we have been able to demonstrate that Cameroonians are capable of people power, strategic thinking and exceptional efficiency in operations.  You are the power behind this.  Thank you.

24 hours after the vote, we still do not have clear results.  What we can clearly affirm is in spite of the control mechanisms put into place by the CPP and other parties, there was rampant fraud by the CPDM as well as poor technical management by ELECAM. Below are a few examples.

Poor technical management

We have mentioned several times the inadequate registration process which the Cameroon government and ELECAM chose to use.  Registrations were carried out manually and the use of technology was very limited.  As a result, the voters register was filled with people who figured multiple times, which resulted in them having multiple voters’ cards.  Lists were not posted on time and many people could not find their polling stations, finally many people were not able to collect their voting cards.  The result is an extremely low participation rate.  Some are estimating it at less than 15%.

ELECAM did not get materials to all polling stations on time.  As a result in some parts of the country voting did not start till 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  Of course this meant that many people who came out in the morning, left without voting.

Fraud

Many voters were caught with 5, 10 and even 20 voting cards.
Ink was not indelible, so people could vote multiple times.
In many parts of the country:
Voters were not properly identified.
Polling agents of opposition parties were denied access to polling stations
Ballots of opposition parties were denied to voters
Contrary to the law, all opposition polling agents were forced to leave the polling stations and  counting then took place in secret with only the CPDM present

Intimidation and Violence

In several incidents, administrative officials, namely sub-divisional officers intimidated polling agents and representatives of opposition parties, chasing them out of polling stations
The opposition party, SDF, is reporting the murder of one of its militants in an incident with CPDM militants and the forces of law and order.
After being forced out of polling stations, opposition polling agents are now being intimidated to sign minutes of the polling station when they had no part in the counting process.

Violation of the law by a candidate

Candidate Paul Biya had his campaign posters and paraphernalia displayed in several polling stations on Election Day.
Against all ethical principles, Candidate Biya used his presidential office and official presidential visits, to carry out campaigns.

As you can see, we have a lot on our plates and our legal team is working over time preparing our post electoral litigation with the Constitutional Council.

At this time, due to the fact that the collection of electoral results is not computerized, our party members are in the divisional counting commissions trying to get obtain the results.

We will communicate trends to you as soon as we have reliable numbers.

Let us remain vigilant and determine the next steps for our movement.  We remain determined and convinced. The Time to bring about change at the helm of our country Is Now!

Kah Walla

Related articles

• John Fru Ndi: “ELECAM Is Still A Sham” (cameroonwebnews.com)
• 2 troops killed in Cameroon on election day (seattletimes.nwsource.com)