... Legislative and Municipal elections in Cameroon July '07

With the July 22nd elections come and gone in Cameroon, the ruling party in Cameroon, the CPDM (Cameroon Peoples' Democratic Movement) has been declared winner by landslide margins. Asked by a friend of mine whether I thought the SDF (Social Democratic Front), the leading opposition party in Cameroon was ready to rule the country, I was adamant yet very clear in my response. See my response below.

With 9 million people registered to vote, the MINAT (Ministry of Territorial Administration) is reporting that 4.5 million voted this past July 22nd, contrary to the 1 million reported by BBC, and the Associated Press. This in itself is enough for us to realise that the Cameroonian populace is sick and tired of the politics surrounding our country and they have through silent protest, expressed themselves clearly.

The landslide by the Bi Mvondo Household is somewhat a good thing for Cameroon since I will stand by many who love Cameroon and spell out that Ni John and his family is not ready to move to Etoudi. 1992 was a perfect year for the revolutionary ideas and change that Ni John would have brought to the Cameroonian political scene but since then, his influence has faded and his ideals remain shadows of patriotic idealism at best. That is not to say though that the Ni John's SDF hasn't contributed to the somewhat apparent change in the Cameroonian political life as well as socio-economic progress and development. Heck, their constant criticism and outcry captured attention from the world and have paved the way for renewed interest in Cameroon from investors.

The SDF is just too distracted at this point to do a great job in ruling the country. The fact that the SCNC (Southern Cameroons National Council) is based in the Anglophone part of the country and its ideals of a separate sovereign state call it Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia are far more appealing to the populace and to my brothers and sisters who have been jobless for years, poses another huge impediment to the SDF Etoudi takeover machinery. You must also note here that Buea (seat of the SCNC) is a mere 8 hours by road from Bamenda (seat of the SDF) and so is Yaoundé (seat of the CPDM).

That aside, the SDF has even lost ground in its own lair. Losing out Wum, Ndop and Bamenda in the legislative elections in the Northwest province thus far. There are more places where the SDF lost and will lose the elections in the Northwest and this is a relatively big slip up given that in the 1996 elections, the SDF lost out only the Bali constituency to the CPDM and that was because as it was alleged, the Fon of Bali had taken ballot boxes to his palace, …but that is another discussion. The SDF even won some parts of Yaoundé in that election.

Then there is the infighting issue that has rendered the SDF a joke in the face of international observers. Could someone answer this question to me clearly? Why on earth is Ni John Fru Ndi still the Chairman of the SDF? 1992 to 2007 is 15 years that is one year more than 2 seven-year terms (septenats), which the current constitution says is the limit for any one president of Cameroon. If Ni John had been president, would he have stepped down in 2006 like Mbah Ndam and the other dissenters in his party called for? That to me is the root of all the infighting that has derailed the SDF charge to taking over the Etoudi mansion.

Bi Mvondo's house (CPDM) on the other hand, is united around their greatest figure and were Bi Mvondo to be elected chairman again in the CPDM, I am quite sure, they will have control of the country for a couple of more decades or so. They are more organised and their popularity is growing even more in Cameroon, even attracting the toughest critics. I hate to admit this but most of the opposition leaders in Cameroon have thrown in the towel and are very good at making a truism out of the if-you-can't-beat-them-join-them statement.

It is sad yet very true when you consider that people who were running for elections in the SDF camp not too long ago have somehow "seen the light" and are now with l'equipe qui gagne. Our SDF leaders promised a lot of things and they themselves have not stood up to the end of the deal so it is tough to side with them. Through their my-way-goes type of attitude, we have had people we looked up to scuffle and tumble over the direction the party should take. The infighting amidst other things has crippled the SDF and interest has dissipated.

Cameroon's politics is in the hands of the CPDM and with them becoming the majority in the National Assembly for the twenty seventeenth time since our independence, we are sure to have another constitutional amendment that will ensure another 14 years at least for Bi Mvondo as chief exec of La Republique. This of course only means that Cameroon will continue to be raped by corrupt officials and as foreign investments keep pouring in, government officials will continue building mansions, etc.

Fellow Cameroonian brothers and sisters, it is up to you and me to make sense of this travesty. Either we pick up arms and revolt and turn the country into what Cote D'Ivoire has become today or, we just sit back in true Cameroonian laissez-faire fashion and drink while our country is sapped of its little pride and economic resources. Of course the second option is always going to be more appealing to the greater population since many do not understand or simply don't care. I do think though in some naively unrelenting way that if the price of beer were to double as has the price of gasoline in Cameroon, some people may actually start to feel the pinch enough to realise what Bi Mvondo and his accomplices have done to our great nation of Cameroon.

God be with you all!