By DOH JAMES SONKEY
The Director General of Elections at ELECAM, Erik Essousse has expressed satisfaction over the general conduct of polls and urged citizens to patiently wait on the Constitutional Council to publish the official results latest October 22, 2018 as stipulated by the Electoral Code.
Speaking to reporters last October 7, 2018 in Yaounde at the close of polling stations all over the country and abroad, Erik Essousse accompanied at the occasion by the Deputy Director General, Abdoulkarimou pointed out that apart from certain polling stations in the North West and South West regions rocked by socio-political crisis, most polling stations all over the country opened at 8am and closed at 6pm.
He declared that “on the whole, voting held without any exception in all the regions of the national territory and in the Diaspora.”
Erik Essousse said that ELECAM decided to match words with actions as the material organization put in place by Elections Cameroon proved solid as all electoral material was deployed in good time and polling station officials enabled voters to cast their votes in “an orderly manner and absolute discipline.”
Decrying some minor incidents observed in few polling stations caused by verbal abuse from some representatives of one or two candidates “who clearly sought to disturb public order,” Erik Essousse reiterated that the electoral system does not allow the publication of result trends.
The elections DG reassured that local polling commissions were already at work counting ballots to determine votes obtained by each candidate at the level of each polling station after which the Council Branch Head of ELECAM will assemble them and forward to the Divisional Supervisory Commission whose members will in turn forward their election report to the National Commission for the Final Counting of Votes.
According to statistics published by ELECAM last October 1, 2018, 6,619,548 electors at home and abroad were to cast their votes in favour of any of the 9 presidential candidates; incumbent Paul Biya, Joshua Osih, Garga Haman Adji, Maurice Kamto, Libii Li Ngue Cabral, Adamou Ndam Njoya, Ndifor Afanwi Franklin, Akere Muna and Serge Espoir Matomba in some 25,054 polling stations.