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Cameroon presidential election update
Voting in Cameroon – Courtesy Getty Images
Opposition candidates on Monday alleged widespread fraud and intimidation at polling stations, a day after voters cast ballots in an election widely expected to hand another term to one of Africa’s longest ruling leaders.
President Paul Biya, who has been in power for nearly 30 years, changed the constitution so he could run again this year. The inevitability of the election’s outcome dampened turnout considerably, though opposition candidates also charged their supporters were chased from polling stations
Momo Jean de Dieu, one of nearly two dozen candidates challenging the incumbent, said he had received reports of ballot boxes not being properly sealed, implying they could be stuffed. Ballots were missing from some polling stations as well, he said.
Another candidate, Albert Dzongang, said he could not even vote for himself because his name was not found on voter lists.
“I don’t know why my name, and that of my wife, were erased from the list,” he said. “To be a candidate in Cameroon, you must be eligible to vote first. So I don’t know how my candidature was approved when I am not an eligible voter.”
Biya, 78, dismissed the criticisms in an interview with state radio, saying “perfection is not of this world.”
“We must be tolerant with (elections body) ELECAM regarding eventual flaws,” he said. “But there was never intention to fraud. We are for transparent and free elections.”
Poll workers used candles and the light from cellular phones to count ballots late into the night Sunday. Results are not due until later this month, though candidates now have three days to lodge complaints at the Supreme Court. The announcement could come sooner if the court rules on any petitions filed.
