Elections 2018: Opponents Of Biya Already On The War Foot

Conventions and congresses, mobilization for registration on the electoral rolls already animate this beginning of the electoral year.

Next Saturday in Bamenda, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) holds an important session of its National Executive Committee (NEC). This decision-making body of the main political party of the Cameroonian opposition could well be the last before the Convention announced for the month of February. A convention of the SDF which should lead the party to set the course for the next elections announced in his message of end of the year to his compatriots by the President of the Republic.

This party convention comes after the operations that have allowed the party to renew its basic organs. The SDF is not alone in deploying in the perspective of the next elections.

The Union of the populations of Cameroon (UPC) preceded it since last October with the election of a new management team, led henceforth by Habiba Issa. The election to the presidency of one of the oldest political formations came after a process of setting up the various basic structures. The party also plans raids on the ground.

Elections 2018: Opponents Of Biya Already On The War Foot

Another political party that has held an elective convention is the National Alliance for Democracy and Progress. ANDP has renewed its five-year lease to Hamadou Moustapha at the head of this political party last November.

On the side of the Democratic Union of Cameroon (UDC), it is towards the mobilization of the militants for the inscriptions on the electoral rolls that the party led by Adamou Ndam Njoya seems to orient its actions.

The same objective is aimed at the Democratic Rally of the Cameroonian People (CPDM). Contrary to custom, no circular of the party hierarchy at the place of the basic organs to lead these different actions. However, the basic structures were mobilized from 2 January 2018, and even before, to raise awareness of potential voters in order to register on the electoral lists.

This was observed in Mfoundi I, where the end-of-year celebrations enabled the local party to provide support to various segments of the population at the same time, and to carry out awareness-raising activities with the local community. young people from this borough.

This is also the case in Mfoundi VI where, as specified by the president of the local section of the party, Jacques Yoki Onana, it is now a question of "docking with the calendar of descents on the ground of Elections Cameroon and sensitize our activists accordingly.

Beside the actions undertaken by the party's basic structures, how not to report the various field raids recently carried out by the Secretary General of the Central Committee. Jean Nkuete went in turn to certain localities of the Center, South, West and Littoral regions in order to mobilize his comrades.

"Tours that will continue," says the Secretary of Communication to the General Secretariat of the Central Committee of the party. Only problem! The low participation in the commissions of revision of the electoral rolls and in turn to those of control of the establishment and distribution of the electoral cards as provided by the provisions of the law bearing on the Electoral Code. The main reason given is the lack of financial resources to allow their different members to participate.

However, the provisions of the above-mentioned law are quite clear on the subject: "The functions of a member of a board of revision are free", as can be read in paragraph 7 of Article 52 of the said law. What drives Elections Cameroon today, at least its territorial dismemberments to operate with extremely reduced teams on the ground, even if that does not have any illegal character.