The Chair of the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, Dr. Enow Abrams Egbe, says members of his board do not receive instructions from any political or administrative authority. He made the rebuttal in a press briefing in Yaounde on Friday October 17 against a backdrop of claims that ELECAM was at the beck and call of administrative officials and some politicians of the establishment during the October 12 presidential election.
In a tacit reaction to such accusations Dr. Enow Egbe reminded Cameroonians that ELECAM is an independent body in charge of organising, managing and supervising the entire electoral and referendum process in Cameroon. Quoting Section 5 of the Electoral Code, the ELECAM boss said Electoral Board Members enjoy independence in the exercise of their duties and do not take instructions from anybody. According to the official, it is this independence that constitutes the cornerstone of the credibility of the country’s electoral process.
The ELECCAM Board Chair was talking to the press at a time that some observers are accusing a certain Minister of was intruding on affairs and even usurping the functions of the election management body at certain instances. In this regard, he cited section 43 (2) of the Electoral Code, which stipulates that government services shall collaborate with and support ELECAM in the performance of its statutory duties. It is for the this reason, he went on, that the administration is required to provide security logistics solely for the purpose of protecting voters, candidates, electoral officials, observers and electoral material. He said ELECAM equally holds consultations with the administration, the judiciary, political parties and the civil society within the framework of the management of the electoral process.
Harping on the transparent manner in which ELECAM functions, he said a polling station, managed by a local polling commission is composed of an ELECAM representative, a chairperson appointed by ELECAM, a representative of the administration, and representatives of political parties. He explained that the local polling commission is responsible for conducting all election operations in the polling station up to the counting of votes. “Vote counting takes place in each polling station immediately after the polls close, in the presence of voters and scrutineers, provided that the room can accommodate them without inconvenience. The electoral law stipulates that at the close of the polling, results must be proclaimed in the polling station”, he explained. The law provides that the counting sheet is drawn up in as many copies as there are members plus two.
According to Dr. Enow Abrams Egbe, one copy of the report is given to each member of the local polling commission who is present and has signed it. The original copy, he underlines, is forwarded by the local polling commission chairperson to the ELECAM council branch Head while another copy is forwarded to the chairperson of the Divisional Supervisory Commission.
While commenting on the October 12 presidential election which had 12 candidates, he said 16 copies of the election return report were drawn up in each polling station. He said after completing the vote counting, the local polling commissions forwarded the counting sheets to the Divisional Supervisory Commissions within 48 hours after the polls were closed. He said as far as the October 12 election is concerned, the 31,653 local polling stations effectively ensured the regularity of the election and submitted their reports to the various Divisional Supervisory Commissions on Tuesday, October 14 in respect of the 48 hour-deadline set by the law.
While harping on the nitty gritty of the Divisional Supervisory Commissions, he said each of such commissions, chaired by the President of the High Court, comprises three representatives of the administration, three ELECAM representatives, and one representative of each candidate. To him, such commissions centralise and check returning operations carried out by local polling commissions and documents relating thereto. Such commissions, according to the law, had a maximum of 72 hours to forward their reports to National Commission for the Final Counting of votes. The ELECAM boss revealed that, since October 16 all election return reports of proceedings from the 58 Divisional Supervisory Commissions from across the country and the 108 local diaspora polling commissions, have been forwarded to the National Commission on the Final Counting of Votes in tandem with the law.
It is with this context that the National Commission on the Final Counting of Votes began work in Yaounde on Friday October 17. The Commission that is Chaired by a member of the Constitutional Council also includes two magistrates appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, five representatives of the administration, five representatives of ELECAM and one representative of each candidate.
Despite widespread complaints of falsification of return sheets and other forms of electoral fraud in favour of the CPDM candidate, Dr. Enow said the election went on smoothly. He, however, said genuine complaints will be handled by the Constitutional Council which will proclaim the results of the election within the 15-day deadline from the close of the polls according to the law.
By Yerima Kini Nsom