By NOELA EBOB BISONG
Amidst speculations that the Legislative and Municipal elections were going to risk yet another extension, in line with the fact that the North West and South West regions remain unstable security wise and therefore not suitable for elections, many have been taken by surprise, following an unusual Sunday presidential decree no. 2019/612 of November 10, 2019, to convene the electorate for the election of Members of Parliament and Municipal Councillors. Reports say president Biya quickly signed the decree while on his way out of the country. He had until November 15 to do so.
According to the decree, the electorate is convened on Sunday February 9 2020, wherein voting shall begin at 8am to close at 6pm. This comes after the mandates of MPs and municipal councillors had previously suffered two extensions, in 2018 and in June 2019. The candidates therefore have, from November 10, 15 days to drop their files, in line with the electoral law. Candidates for the Municipal elections are expected to drop their files at council branches, while those for the Parliamentary are to drop at the office of the Director General of ELECAM.
However, with the terrain in the country’s two Anglophone regions still rough, characterised by gun battles, kidnappings and other atrocities, with ordinary citizens living in constant fear and suspicion, on how elections will effectively take place in these two regions remains doubtful to many, who have been quick to judge that this might just be a ploy by President Biya to yield a massive harvest in the forthcoming twin elections.
Speaking to The SUN shortly after the presidential decree was released, the communication officer of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement CRM of Prof Maurice Kamto, Okala Ebode said though their party is not comfortable with the manner and timing of the twin elections, yet the CRM will participate in the elections, for they cannot sit and watch the CPDM of Biya grab all seats in the National Assembly and at local councils.
Following the Social Democratic Party SDF’s NEC meeting recently, the party reiterated that it will not take part in elections as long as the violence and insecurity continues in the Anglophone regions. This was a day before the elections were announced for February 9, 2020. At press time on Sunday, The SUN learnt that the SDF had convened an emergency meeting for Monday, November 11, 2019 to declare the party’s stance. The SDF party is the one to be most affected considering that its main electorate is the crisis-hit North West and South West regions, since those in the Littoral and West have been taken over to a large extent by the CRM of Prof Maurice Kamto.