Chapter three of the electoral code spells out the eligibility and incompatible conditions for people running for the coveted post of President of the Republic. According to Section 117 (1) of this law, candidates for the office of President of the Republic must be in full possession of their civic and political rights and must be aged 35 years and above by the date of the election. It adds that candidates shall be Cameroonian citizens by birth and show proof of having resided in Cameroon for an uninterrupted period of at least 12 months and having their names entered in the electoral register by the date of the election.
Going by Section 118 of the law, all persons who, by their own doing, have placed themselves in the situation of dependence on or connivance with a foreign person, organisation or power or foreign state, shall not be eligible. The law equally provides that eligibility shall be established by the Constitutional Council within three days of referral to it, at the behest of any concerned person or the Legal Department. Section 119 of the code states that the office of the Presidency of the Republic shall be incompatible with any other elective public office or professional activity.
Section 121, which borders on the nomination of candidates, provides that any candidate wishing to stand for presidential election shall declare their candidature through a declaration bearing the authenticated signature. Section 121 states that a candidate may be either put forward by a political party or independently, on condition that they are put forward by at least 300 dignitaries hailing from all the regions of the country, with 30 signatures from each region. It adds that persons who qualify to append such signatures shall be either Members of Parliament or Trades of Chambers, or Regional Councillors, Municipal Councillors or First-Class Chiefs.
The law further states that the candidate nominated by a political party not represented at the National Assembly, the Senate, in the Regional Council or Municipal Council, shall fulfil the same conditions as an independent candidate. The dignitaries mentioned above shall affix to a candidate’s papers their signatures, authenticated by the administrative authorities with territorial competence. Going by the law, each dignitary may affix their signature only once and for a single candidate. Section 122 of the code states that the candidacy papers shall bear the full name, date and place of birth, occupation and residence of the candidate, the colour, emblem and the title chosen for printing ballot papers.
The candidacy papers shall be accompanied by a list of 300 signatures of dignitaries in case of independent candidates, and a certified copy of the candidate’s birth certificate, not more than three months old. Candidates are equally required to supply presentation and nomination papers submitted by the party sponsoring the candidate, as well as a declaration whereby the candidate undertakes, on honour, to abide by the constitution. Candidates are also required to provide a certificate of non-conviction no more than three months old, a tax or no tax certificate, a certificate of nationality and the original copy of a certificate showing payment of the deposit of FCFA 30 million into the state treasury.
From every indication, some of these requirements will eliminate some of those who have been projecting themselves on social media as presidential hopefuls. For instance, it is very difficult for those who are vying for the coveted post on an independent ticket because it is very difficult to have 300 signatures in a country wherein administrative, traditional and parliamentary authorities mostly belong to the ruling party. The issue is even rendered more complicated by the fact that the signatures must be authenticated by administrative officials, many of whom are more or less agents of the ruling CPDM party.
Since last Monday, ELECAM offices all over the country have been busy receiving files from candidates for the election. The exercise will close this weekend, paving the way for ELECAM officials to study the files. The candidates who will not fulfil the requirements provided for by the law will have their files rejected. Those who will protest against the rejection of their files have the right to file complaints before the Constitutional Council. Thus, it is likely that the council will receive many petitions in the days ahead.
By Yerima Kini Nsom