By Talla Aghaa Christopher
Cameroonians of voting age all over national territory went to the polls on Sunday October 7, 2018, to elect a new President to pilot the affairs of the state for the next seven years. While the voting process is reported to have gone well in other parts of the country with voters turning out in their numbers to perform their civic responsibility, in Kumba, chief of Meme Division South West Region the scenario was different. Kumba denizens woke up on polling day to witness a rather deserted streets as the population remained indoors for what they termed fear of the unknown. Apart from the presence of the military crisis – crossing the entire Kumba Urban with 138 polling stations reduced to 12 polling centres to ensure the security of the population and eligible voters, the town could only be compared to a grave yard.
However The SUN made stopover in some of the polling centres in the Kumba Urban Area.
At the Mile 1 park, Mbonge Road polling center, host to 9 polling stations, polling though expected to commence at 8 am, business of the day finally started about 9 am with heavy presence of the military. ELECAM officials answered present and made necessary arrangements for a free and transparent elections. Though the ballot papers of the contesting candidates could be visibly seen at the various polling stations in the centre, polling agents of the political parties were unavoidably absent. There was how a glimmer of hope that polling will carry on though timidly.
At the Government Practising Primary School, GPS, polling Center, host to 9 polling stations according to an ELECAM staff who was on standby coordinating the polling process and expecting about 3000 eligible voters to come and cast their votes. At the close of the day with the presence of forces of law and order to ensure security, though voting went on timidly, THE SUN gathered that the polling centre registered an impressive number of voters who defied all odds and cast their votes.
The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme Ntou’ou Ndong Chamberlain who performed his civic responsibility at the Government Bilingual High School, GBHS Kumba polling centre, with 4 polling stations amidst tight security, told the Press that going by reports from the security and administrative authorities in Meme Division, voting was going on hitch free in the entire Division and that security measures have been put in place to permit the population to vote without any incidence. He however remains optimistic that voting will move on well so that the people of the Division should continue to live in peace. Though corroborated by one of the ELECAM staff at the polling centre, the ELECAM official regretted the fact that, the difficulties they are facing in the entire process was the security checks put in place. He opined that, they were expecting so many electorates but due to the difficulties to move around town, the voting was really timid. He expressed hope that as the day goes to an end most people must have been able to cast their votes.
Sporadic gunshots perturbed elections
As voting went on, sporadic gunshots were heard around Kake 2 village in Kumba I Subdivision, which sacred the few persons who would have turned out to vote. It was at about 6 pm just at the close of the polls the moment when those who defied the separatists fighters threats and voted were about to go back to their various polling stations to assist in the counting. The gun shots forced interested voters to remain indoors.
In a related development at the early hours of Sunday October 7, 2018 at exactly 2am Election Day, THE SUN gathered that fire had visited the premises of the Meme High Court along Kramma Avenue Kumba. The Sun gathered that, the fire consumed the court’s canteen, part of the legal department and the office of the President of the Court of first instance with enormous damage recorded. Thanks to the intervention of the Kumba Rescue Unity that the fire was quickly content. Though the exact cause of the arson is yet to be determining, many accusing fingers are already pointing at the separatists fighters, suspecting that voting will go on at the court premises as was the case in previous elections. It should be recalled, that, the Meme High Court is usually host to two polling stations but was moved to the GPS Kumba polling centre for this year’s presidential elections. Investigations have already been opened to ascertained the cause of the fire incidence
However reports from the rest of the 138 polling stations in the Kumba urban Area indicates that polling went on timidly and at the close of the polls just about 10 % of the voters turn out for the polls.