Martin A. Nkemngu
6 March 2008
For more than one week now, Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Ephraim Inoni has been holding consultations at the Star Building with leaders of political parties and those of Cameroon civil society organisations with a view to obtaining their proposals on the selection of people into the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM).
ELECAM is the body which shall henceforth organize, manage and supervise elections and referendums in Cameroon and according to the law, it is expected to go operational next June at the latest.
In effect, ELECAM was created to replace the National Elections Observatory (NEO) which was criticized for not having enough powers to enable it to manage the electoral process with impartiality, transparency and independence.
It was thus in search of greater transparency and autonomy in the conduct of elections in Cameroon that the government came up with ELECAM. Hence the law has vested the body with the requisite powers to perform its duties. Unlike NEO which acted merely as observer of the electoral process while the Ministry of Territorial Administration managed the elections, ELECAM will effectively be responsible for the organization, management and supervision of all election operations. It is expected that the absence of divisional officers in the process will make for greater transparency and fairness. Thus the political stakeholders will develop more confidence and trust in the electoral process.
Reading through the law setting up ELECAM, one has the impression that Cameroon will have one of the best electoral systems on the African continent. But all will depend on the people who will be chosen to manage it. This is why the current consultations by the Prime Minister are of great importance. If at the end those chosen are not persons of honour and integrity, the objective will be completely defeated. Yet the law protects very well those who will be appointed to manage the organ.
In order to guarantee the independence of its members section 2(2) of the law states that, "members of Elections Cameroon, shall, under no circumstances, seek or receive instructions or orders from a public or private authority during the performance of the duties." It goes further to add in section 3(1) that "members may not be prosecuted, investigated, arrested, detained or tried for their views and actions in the performance of their duties." Such provisions give reason for the public to build confidence in those who are charged with the management of the body. Some of the political leaders consulted have expressed the wish to see people of integrity named to manage ELECAM. As UNDP President, Bouba Bello Maïgari says, "members should be people with proven integrity, impartiality and honesty."
And indeed no matter how perfect the law may be, much will depend on the calibre of people who will put it into practice. If they are incompetent, morally bankrupt and dishonest, the result will be a disappointment to the people. But if they are intellectually upright, God fearing, patriotic and fair, they will engender confidence and trust and will ensure that elections take place in satisfactory conditions of peace, security, liberty and transparency in Cameroon.
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