BY ATIA TILARIOUS AZOHNWI
Barrister Christopher Tambe Tiku and former Governor Ejake Mbonda Thomas, members of the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM are expected to end a five-day tour of the South West Region today.
The tour which began on March 15, 2018 in Fako Division was aimed at evaluating all the accompanying measures that have been put in place to ensure that elections are held hitch-free as well as to guarantee a strict respect of all electoral laws.
The electoral board members say they have been guaranteed by the South West regional delegate of ELECAM that voter cards are being distributed, lists of electors put up and polling stations secured.
Tambe Tiku and Ejake Mbonda met with South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai and also with the region’s Senior Divisional Officers with whom they discussed the security concerns surrounding the March 25, 2018 senate elections.
“We have been assured as far as security is concerned. You know we are holding this election at a time when the political climate is not very conducive. It is fundamentally different from all previous elections we have had and therefore the issue of security is inseparable to this process. That is why we had to get assurances from the governor. We have been assured of the protection of election materials, personnel, our building and other stakeholders,” Tambe Tiku told The SUN.
He said councillors who constitute the Electoral College for Sunday’s polls will be secured before, during and after the Election Day. He also said the law compels councillors to vote in the senatorial elections or lose their voting right.
“We are also appealing to stakeholders to respect the process and to sensitise the respective councillors who are the electors to know that section 227(2) of the Electoral Code makes it mandatory, not facultative, for councillors to vote. It is an obligation for all councillors to take part in this electoral process. Section 227(3) states that where a councillor is unavoidably absent, then he may give proxy. Each councillor is entitled only to one proxy,” Tambe Tiku said.
He went on to emphasise that: “According to Section 227, any councillor who fails to vote loses their voting right. Councillors are compelled to vote. Any councillor who does not vote and does not provide proxy and does not show any evidence that they were unavoidably absent will lose their voting right as far as the provisions relating to senatorial elections are concerned.”
Tambe Tiku who also doubles as a human rights crusader said councillors should not be coerced to vote a certain political party for any reason whatsoever.
“It is not allowed for any councillor to be coerced to vote a certain political party. They are supposed to use their consciences and judgment to make choices not based on party lines,” he said.
He warned that all electoral malpractices including vote buying, caging of voters and the display of ballot papers out of the polling stations will meet with the law.