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« Summit Magazine Becomes the Magazine to Beat with its Second Issue | Main | Memory Lane: US Diplomatic Activism in Cameroons Democratization Process »

August 24, 2007

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Dr A A Agbormbai

The joint statement by the US, UK, and Netherlands embassies reflects accurately the state of affairs of the Cameroonian electoral process.

Elections in Cameroon are organised by the CPDM, for the CPDM, and of the CPDM... and only one party can ever win... the CPDM!!!

Is this what fairness or justice is about? How can a contending party take charge of an election, and expect anyone else to take it seriously?

Isn't this like going into a football match, and asking one of the contending teams to choose the referee? Would this team not choose one of its own fans?

Come on, Cameroon and Paul Biya! Be serious about this matter! Stop taking the world for a fool! Stop putting make-ups on the electoral process to hide its realities, and hoping that the world is so stupid that it will be fooled. The world is too clever for all such underhand tactics!

The Cameroonian electoral system is currently Cameroon's Achilles's heel in its development efforts. The system is designed for fraud, irregularities, or rigging. Without sorting it out, I can't see Cameroon achieving its long term goals.

And there is only one person who has that power to correct it... Paul Biya! Come on, Paul Biya! We need a truly independent electoral system consisting of members of different political parties and civil society. Each party or NGO should choose its own representatives. In particular, the President of Cameroon should have NO HAND in this matter.

Over to you now, Paul.

harry Mac Yemti

I agree with Dr A A Agbormbai.

Louis_Mbua

Systems designed to work on the philosophy of fraud have a way to self-destruct: they start believing their own lies -- the most dangerous amd sure path to oblivion and self-deception. This gives rise to megalomania and the ultimately devastating fall from their illusive victories.

The danger of this kind of a system is that fraud becomes second nature to the power brokers; with power and fraud becoming a dangerous cocktail of concussion with a resultant addiction. An addict either admits their mistakes and cures themselves or is destroyed by the drug. A wise addict (if there are any wise ones at all) will repent while a foolish one will continue to be in a state of hallucination until they are consumed by their own medicine.

Aloys Minuga

Two points:

Dr Agbormbai notes "Isn't this like going into a football match, and asking one of the contending teams to choose the referee?"

The real situation is worse. Imagine the Coach of Cameroon's Lions serving as referee in a match with Egypt on a crowded stadium with dimmed lights. The presence of a powerless crowd means fairness to Paul Biya and Mebara - pampered products of a neocolonial French cancer in Africa (and dare I say an "inferior educational system").

Atangana Mebara does NOT speak for all Cameroonians. He speaks for the Biya tribal gang that has imposed itself on over 16m Africans and continues to manipulate all processes to stay in power for no obvious public good. Can any one list Paul Biya's achievements over the last 24 years?

It is satisfying that the UK, US and Netherlands have taken a small measure to check the excesses of the regime against a powerless people. Paul Biya is a master at organizing fake elections in Cameroon. In the past, he wasted hard-earned dollars to pay failed US politicians to come and certify his re-election. His cronies wasted more cash buying adverts in the Western press to clean up Paul Biya's image. Corruption is the opium of failed politicians.

Thanks to the US, UK and Netherland embassies.

Ejike Mouluh

Louis,

You said it all. These "big men" in Yaounde will continue hallucinating until they are consumed by their own lies.

Democracy is meant to fairly catalyse changes in a political system and lead to greater good. The Yaounde regime has developed several antidotes to change over the years but they cannot fool all the people all the time. Now the UK, US and Netherland Missions who are Cameroon's most fair partners in development are speaking out. They must have good reasons.

Furthermore, the brain-dead CPDM liliputs at Cameroon Tribue aka the "Fib'une" (Nkemdem Forbinake) must know they cannot teach these Embassies. Uncritical patriotism remains the bastion of thieves.

Their acts are sad but we are approaching a new dawn.

Tayong

WHER ARE(WERE) THE FRENCH???

This was the moment for the tough talking Sarkozy to denouce what he's rhectorically referred to as African dictators. In presenting his case to the African leaders last month in Gabon and Senegal Sarkozy charged the Africans of complacency by trying to blame France for every woe that befalls the continent.He blamed Africans for maintaining dictators in power that crumble their economies. I agreed in toto with Sarkozy but his silence over miscarriage of democratic principles by dictatorial oligarchies befits more complacency than Africans resisting dictators.

CAMEROON,POLITICAL WESTERN CAKE ON OFFER!

While the US,UK and the Dutch frown at dictators ,France for fear of losing its grip on the nation prefers to play cool and as they say silence is consent.With Ivory Coast and most of the French Africa slipping off the French , Cameroon might as well remains their last rung for survival.Cameroonians themselves have their share of the blame for demonstrating the highest level of electoral apathy in the whole of West Africa(masterminded by the regime anyway).

THE OPPOSITION WEAKLINGS

Mr Fru Ndi recently declared that a single parliamentarian can cause an earthquake in the assembly. This statement is demonstratively true but what we have in the Cameroonian context is political amateurs and money mongers rather than freedom fighters.In other countries we have seen congressmen block proceedings, taken to the streets, gone for hunger strikes etc until their demands are met.The antiwar movement in the US was started by a single woman who pitched her tent near Bush house for months & today 60% of Americans wants troops out.Cameroon opposition wants an excruciating poor populace to do their job for them.

Before these elections were held all the red lights were on indicating that the highest level of electoral fraud would ensue.They accepted to contest under these conditions without waging any legitimate fight for plain level political terrain.No Independent Electoral Comission(not even the regime's own ELECAM),no indelible ink,poor voters registration, selective voter registration, SDO intimadations, etc etc,what then did they expect?

BRAVO BIYA 2011, ...

This is just a tip of the iceberg.The crushing majority of Biya gives him every gut to ask for constitutional amendments for him to run again , and again we shall be in for another communique from US, UK and the Dutch over electoral fraud, and then shall it ever be.....The real question is , why are Cameroonians such a self defeatist lot throwing their hopes and aspirations on foreign powers to help them out of every mess? Can sometime tell me please becuse im dumbfounded.

Oh ...may God save this nation.


paul

I want to looth this medium to congratulate the international community for acting as checks and balances to the gov't of cameroon and also urging to continuerelentlessly with this effort as this is going to go a long way to put the system in check.

Mbang John

Finally, the US, UK and Dutch Embassies now play the role of the Opposition, in the fraud that Paul Biya is trying to set up at a collosal cost to millions of Central Africans. Governors and Divisional Officers are part of the dragnet security apparatus that overtly subverts the democratic process in Cameroon.

Paul Biya has been in power for 24 years like a Monarch, lives in a marble country house, dresses like a wealthy European at the expense of the national treasury and even tried to buy the best of corporate jets from Boeing to dampen the Marie-Antoinette like cravings of his young wife.

This nonesense must be ended. Cameroon was the creation of the US (League of Nations meeting in San Francisco after WWI) and the UK. For how long can a people be shafted by an under-performing lack-lustre leader who in the past ten years has effectively ceased visiting provinces. Who is he serving?

Lord help Africans.

Kumbaboy

THE CPDM must now think five times before bringing their secret "bill horribilis" to the House to seek another 7 year term for Paul Biya.

Gratias to the fortright and critical friends of African Peoples in Yaounde (US, Great Britain and the Netherland).

The World cannot wipe out Apatheid from South Africa only to lie back and permit under-performing African leaders to reduce their populations to economic rubble.

For a land as rich as Cameroon, it takes incredible incompetence and myopia to ruin it. And in the eighties, Paul Biya's Cameroon imported more Champagne from France than Great Britain, effectively posting oil revenues to the French wine industry. This happened under the watch of master playboy Paul Biya. Last year his tribesman Higher Education Minister Jacques Ndongo effectively undermined academic excellence sending a devastating message to the youth.

This regime should be sent packing.

Tula Anonymous

Verdicts

The other side
of a landslide victory
in my father’s house,

is a massive
postcolonial
burial.

Don’t cry for me, mother.
Cry for the not yet born.

Tula Anonymous.

Tula Anonymous

Bulu War Song

Au village?
chez-moi même?
c’est quoi même?

Au village?
c’est quoi-même?!
chez-moi-même?!

Au village?
Au village?!

And so the madness thunders on
night and day, as the dancers
caper in drunken bouts,
overcome by their rout
of the homesteaders.

The oil trundles
in countless barrels
from the creeks
below the mountain.

The bubinga tumbles
with the heavens,
crushing stars and diamonds,
to the watchful gaze
of silent “pygmies”.

And the dance of the warriors
is not yet done.

I hear songs of sorrow:
I hear songs of grief
as the sea retreats,
washing its teeth
of the iniquity of the forest.

Cry, brothers and sisters,
Cry me a country.

Tula Anonymous

JPTanyong

Thank you all Cameroonians for your very mature comments. I believe this is the prevailing sentiment in Cameroon and that is why Biya and CPDM can never win frre and fair elections in that country. That is why genuine elections will sound their death knell. Biya knows it, inspite of all his arrogance, contempt and excessive display of wealth, illegally acquired on the backs on poor people. I have said before that all Cameroonians creditors to the Biya junta and even his underpants and socks are bought with our money. This man has never earned an honest dollar in his life, having done his entire career as he did in a thieving government.

The question that ridicules Biya and his cronies is this: If you have so much popularity as to win over 90% of seats in elections, then why not enthusiastically embrace the idea of a genuine independent elections body so as to silence the critics (some of which are credible international community partners- Commonwealth, US, UK etc and not just the local opposition)?

Don’t bother yourselves US, UK etc? The idea of an independent elections body is a pipe dream.

ELECAM is a complete ruse. Biya has up till 2011 to sex up the structure well so as to ensure that is MINATD-reincarnate.

Only popular uprising and the military supporting the people can chase Biya out of power. He should be careful this time around. He may not be as lucky as 1992.

Ma Mary

No folks, our freedom lies elsewhere and not in trying to change what we cannot change.


READ THIS WITH CARE


Do not rush...


If you have time,

READ THIS ONE TOO

Thank you for your time

GrahamJ

As a South African my insight to Cameroon politics was Zero. These post help me to "look" behind what I see and hear. Regards
Graham

s.akamembulle

It is with desmay and a sign of abnomality that we Cameroonians havd failed to acknowledged that in any living society there are always two opposite camps, the weak and the strong,rich and poor,happy and unhappy.And when ever an individual happens to find him or herself on the weaker side of the camp there is nothing that can be done to eradicate the unhappiness of the victime.That is the situation currently happening in Cameroon.We Cameroonians accepted democracy for better or for worst.As a result we respect the opinion of the people who feel that the rulling party could have collapsed during the down of Democracy in early 90s but unfortunately for these critics things do not happen to their own wish.Hence we all whether opposition or independent critics are bound to respect and honour decisions of the rulling party.The simple question most people will like to ask is that "why is it that majority of Cameroonians are still suporting the rulling party ?.The answer is the choice of each and every one.
God Bless Cameroon.

Galabe Elvis

I challenge the international community represented in 'Cameroon' to assist the distinct anglophone community in 'Cameroon' in their efforts to assert their right to self-determination and see for themselves once more as in the 1960s how transparent elections can be conducted independently of the government within a portion of that state!

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