By Doh James Sonkey & Sah Terence Animbom
Meeting in an extraordinary session in Bamenda Saturday, July 28, 2018, the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party pertinent issues regarding the upcoming presidential elections in October were examined.
With news that Joshua Osih’s candidature has been disqualified on grounds that he has dual nationality, it was thus necessary for the SDF to clear the air.
Dr Fonjindam, SDF auditor and Sonkeng Etienne, SDF Treasurer, made it categorically clear that the dust raised about Joshua Osih’s candidature is simply raised by a chickening out regime that has already acknowledged somehow that Joshua Osih is the best candidate and will beat Biya in the elections.
“The rumours concerning the nationality of our candidate has been put to try to confuse people but we want to state that Joshua Osih is a law maker in this country even as we speak and could not have been voted as parliamentarian in Cameroon if he did not meet the requirements,” the SDF officials say.
They went on to reiterate that Biya has not won any election since 1992 and that the SDF will not fold their arms and watch Biya and his rigging machinery operate during the upcoming presidential elections.
Though they never disclosed their plan of action, they are confident that their strategies will pay them off. They maintained they want to remain as discrete as they can and that they cannot say all the things they are planning, who they are working with and for what reasons.
Regarding the recently convened Anglophone General Conference, Sonkeng on the SDF is open to any invitation though they have not been invited yet. He went on to say that whether they are invited or not, they have a part to play even at the background.
“Besides the conveners of the conference are those to settle on those they think are ripe to take part in the conference and if they think that the SDF should take part why not. After all, not everything is done in public. The SDF can still play a consultative role,” he said.
ELECAM DG debunks rumours on rejection of candidacies of Muna and Osih
The Director General of Elections Cameroon, Erik Essousse has refuted allegations that ELECAM has rejected the candidacies of presidential hopefuls Akere Muna of the Movement Now and Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front. He was reacting in an interview he granted the state radio and television last week in a move to dispel the rumours propagated by social media.
Erik Essousse disclosed that the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon meeting in session as of right since files of candidacies were deposited, are doing so under closed curtains as stipulated by the Electoral Code.
Speaking earlier to the state broadcaster, the Chairperson of the Electoral Board of ELECAM, Enow Abrams Egbe announced that members of the Electoral Board are working hard to make sure that ELECAM publishes before this week runs out, the final list of candidates retained to have fulfilled all the requirements to run for presidential election of October 7, 2018 in Cameroon.
He said that though they have up to August 8, 2018 as deadline to publish the final list of candidates, they want to do so earlier in order to give the Constitutional Council enough time to handle petitions from those who will want to object their decision as stipulated by the Electoral Code.