By Doh James Sonkey
Cameroon elections management body, ELECAM has signed partnership agreements with a coalition of civil society organisations in Cameroon, Un Monde Avenir and the Friedrich Elbert Foundation. The agreements were signed recently at the Head Office of Elections Cameroon in Yaounde by the Electoral Board Chairperson, Dr Enow Abrams Egbe, the Resident Representative of the Friedrich Elbert Foundation, Christian Klatt and the National Coordinator of Un Monde Avenir, Philippe Nanga, in the presence of the Director General of Elections at ELECAM, Dr Erik Essousse. The deals are all intended to boost voter registration.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Electoral Board Chairperson, Dr Enow Abrams Egbe while praising the signing of this new document of collaboration, reiterated that, “the newly drafted partnership is very timely as it comes on the eve of the 2025 presidential election in Cameroon which needs to witness massive voter registration. Our main objective is to make sure that the clauses of the convention are well respected and the final goal that we intend to achieve is the increase in the voter’s registration exercise, to make sure that the next elections will have greater participation.”
Dr Enow Abrams Egbe rejoiced over the frontline role played by the civil society in Cameroon’s electoral process.
He described “the collaboration with civil society as fundamental. Don’t forget that the civil society is one of the stakeholders in the electoral process and so, we want to let the world know, Cameroonians in particular and our electors especially that, there is transparency, inclusiveness, free and fair participation in elections and all what we do in Cameroon.”
Talking to reporters, Philippe Nanga of Un Monde Avenir said “the main challenge of Un Monde Avenir is to create an effective and active population participation in the upcoming presidential polls. Boosting voter’s registration is not only the task that we will conduct but also to boost participation. We will set up the pace for teams of youths who will work on the field to amplify calls for voter’s registration. It should be noted that, the more people participate, the more there is trust, security and legitimacy.”
Christian Klatt of Friedrich Elbert Foundation in a chat with the press appreciated Elections Cameroon for the innovative approach which seeks to include all citizens in the electoral process.