By Francesco Fontemaggi
It wouldn't change anything if we boycott [the elections]. Biya would say he has won anyway. We participate to point out irregularities. John Fru Ndi, SDF Chairman
(AFP) Cameroon goes to the ballot on Sunday for legislative polls which the opposition says are aimed at perpetuating President Paul Biya's 25-year-old stranglehold over the west African country.
CPDM Ballot paper allegedly distributed to CPDM officials in advance of elections ostensibly for ballot box stuffing purposes on election day, according to the opposition SDF.
Cameroon's oil wealth has not trickled down to the millions of teeming poor, graft is rampant with the country regularly being listed as among Africa's most corrupt nations by Transparency International, and Biya is accused by critics of trampling upon democracy and human rights.
Five million of the country's 16 million people are eligible to cast their vote on Sunday to pick 180 members to the National Assembly and 359 municipal councillors.
The elections have already been given the thumbs down by the opposition but others say they are far better planned than in 2002, when they had to be deferred due to poor organisation.
"There has been an improvement in terms of organisation and transparency," said Father Pierre Titi Nwel from the Roman Catholic church's peace and justice commission. The church is fairly close to the opposition.
"The electoral process have been computerised and made public but we still find multiple voters' cards and children listed on the voters' rolls," he said.
Cameroon's opposition leader John Fru Ndi has accused veteran ruler Biya - who is both head of state and government - of planning widespread fraud.
"The organisation of the elections has not changed. It has even worsened," the leader of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) told AFP.
'The organisation of the elections has not changed'
"The elections will be unfair and won't be transparent. And Biya is the architect," he added.
Biya was appointed prime minister in 1975 and has been president since 1982.
Fru Ndi, who finished a poor second to the president in the last elections in 2004, said the government was planning widespread fraud.
"Some people have two, three or five voting cards. Minors have some but some other people don't even have one," he said.
Fru Ndi's party has 22 members in the current parliament against 149 for the ruling Democratic Rally of the Cameroonian People (RDPC).
He said his group was contesting the elections because "it wouldn't change anything if we boycott them."
"Biya would say he has won anyway. We participate to point out irregularities," he said.
Although the ruling party's return to power is an accomplished fact, the key thing to watch would be whether it gains a two-thirds parliamentary majority to "push through Biya's plan for a constitutional amendment so that he can seek a new mandate in 2011", a diplomat based in Yaounde said.
The yawning chasm between the haves and have-nots apart, Cameroon is also divided between the economically richer and Christian-dominated south and the Muslim-majority arid north.
Biya's grand plans to build a showcase capital at Yaounde and impressive buildings at the economic hub Douala have alienated many unemployed youths. Meanwhile, the country has about 50 000 kilometres (30,000 miles) of roadways, only 5 000 of which are paved.
"The grand plans (of Biya) are being put in place, big buildings and infrastructure development works have started in Yaounde and Douala," said Gregoire Owona, a cabinet minister and ruling party heavyweight.
Cameroon has under pressure from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund launched several programmes since 1990 to attract investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, expand trade, and recapitalise banks.
In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored structural adjustment programme; however the IMF is still pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatisation, and poverty reduction.
"There is money in Cameroon due to the oil and the several large debt waivers in recent months," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Paris Club of creditor countries has agreed to cut one billion dollars of Cameroon's $3,5-billion debt burden.
"Growth is not too bad, it's around four to five percent (but) the money is not trickling down to the bottom layers," the diplomat said.
Cameroonian authorities, under pressure from international lenders and donors, have launched a campaign against corruption and embezzlement. Former government bigwigs have been snared. -
Sapa-AFP
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