John Fru Ndi: “ELECAM Is Still A Sham”

“Biya hates Cameroon and would not listen to proposals for a free, fair and transparent election. He should sit and watch what will happen. Don’t ask me how.”

The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, John Fru Ndi, has reacted angrily to the recent appointment of six members into Elections Cameroon, ELECAM Board, describing it as fictitious and a sham.

Speaking to The Post shortly after the appointments, Fru Ndi said the body is still loaded with two-thirds of it members being CPDM Central Committee members who claimed to have resigned but are still blood and bones of CPDM. “We expected Biya to completely overhaul ELECAM, not to carry out cosmetic changes. Even if half of that body came from the SDF, it would not make it transparent and neutral,” Fru Ndi told The Post.

While acknowledging that the five of the six are from the Civil Society, the SDF Chair said out of the six names SDF was contacted to propose; only Professor Noel Titi was appointed. “Let me inform you that those we proposed, we considered them neutral and none was from the SDF,” Fru Ndi said, maintaining that ELECAM is void of all powers to act as an independent body because the man at the top and Biya dictate to those they have appointed.

“It might interest you to know that some of the people SDF proposed were contacted by hierarchy and were told that they have to sign an undertaking not to ever criticise the regime in power or say anything that will embarrass ELECAM. As such, they turned down the offer,” said the SDF Chair. The SDF Chairman said ELECAM is the only electoral body that has one Board with two mandates, others have three years renewable once and others two years.

Asked whether SDF’s worries could not be laid to rest following the appointment of some civil society members known to be very critical of the regime and, therefore, he can now call on Cameroonians to register and vote, Fru Ndi said the call for people not to register came from Cameroonians who have seen that their votes do not count because of massive fraud in previous elections, masterminded by Biya and his gang so that he remains in power for life.

“It is not SDF that called on Cameroonians not to register, go ask Cameroonians why they are not registering and they will give these same reasons I am telling you. People should stop blaming SDF for voter apathy. How will people have confidence in an electoral body that will not proclaim results?

This is because before people go to the polls, results are known and before results leave far-off enclaved areas, Ministers in Yaounde start reading ready-made results how the CPDM has already won here and there,” said Fru Ndi. He said Biya is building a serious revolution each passing day and he will be held responsible because, according to him, Biya hates Cameroon and would not listen to proposals for a free, fair and transparent election.

“He should sit and watch what will happen. Don’t ask me how,” Fru Ndi said. In the same line of thought, SDF National Vice Chairman, Joshua Osih, declared that the SDF will, in the days ahead, drag Government to court for violating the same electoral laws creating ELECAM because “they have messed up again.”

The SDF Vice Chair added that all what SDF has been doing is to expose the weaknesses of ELECAM so that the international community should know where Biya is driving this country to.
“You will believe with me that we in the SDF have tried our best this far,” Osih remarked.

Post Web Edition | 15 August 2011 | Post Web Edition|

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