PoliticsCameroons: Analysis: No revolution yet but conditions coud lead to Subsaharan Spring
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AfricaFiles (Nov15,2k11)
Source: AfricanArguments.org
by Ajong Mbapndah
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Cameroon: President must make reforms
to avoid ‘Cameroon Spring’
As expected, incumbent President Paul Biya of the ruling Cameroons Peoples Democratic Party (CPDM) was proclaimed winner of the October 2011 Presidential elections. Though he and his ruling party may be basking in euphoria, the elections by and large were a loss for the rest of the country. According to official results, the President scored circa 77.989 % of the vote. His eternal challenger John Fru Ndi of the Social Democratic Front came in second with 10.712% of the vote with a collection of smaller parties making up the numbers.
The fact however remains that the Biya era will sooner or later come to an end and the elections provided an opportunity for the President to come out big. This could have been achieved by letting a younger more energetic cadre within his party to take the baton, or at the very least, forcefully and genuinely make the elections free and fair. Mr Biya did neither. The electoral watch dog ‘ELECAM’ was hapless, but Mr. Biya did not need all the gerrymandering that took place to secure a comfortable victory. He may have emerged victorious but can he really stand shoulder o shoulder with leaders like John Attah Mills of Ghana and Michael Sata of Zambia who have emerged victorious from elections and earned respect across the world?
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