By Rebecca Tinsley*
If you look at social media, it seems everyone in Cameroon knows that President Paul Biya’s government stole the October 12 presidential election. His almost total absence from the campaign trail did not prevent Biya’s party claiming that he is mentally and physically ready to rule for another seven years.
The international community is also aware that the vote was distorted by government-affiliated officials. Diplomats know this because hundreds of local vote tallies gathered on October 12 by civil society do not match the results proclaimed on October 27 by the government-anointed Constitutional Council.
Moreover, the official declaration defies common sense. There is no way the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon, mired in a violent conflict for nine years – a conflict that Biya’s administration addresses with disproportionate military force rather than political dialogue – voted 86% in the North-West and 69% in the South-West for Biya.
Cameroonians are bravely speaking out online and on the streets, standing up to this blatant fraud. They are calling for candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary to be named president, based on carefully documented local vote tallies. The international community is cautiously condemning post-election violence, but mostly refraining from congratulating President Biya. Yet, they lack the courage to mention election rigging. The EU, UN, HRW, France, and Canada “took note” of the results, while Gabon, Central African Republic (CAR), and Eritrea acknowledged President Biya’s win.
It is noteworthy that France, in particular, stressed it was essential that “democracy, basic freedoms and the rule of law are scrupulously respected and that all those people arbitrarily detained since the beginning of the electoral process are released in order to maintain national cohesion.” Analysts say that this goes further than France’s previous bland, pro-forma responses to election theft in Cameroon, its former colony.
Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, whose ministry largely oversees election matters, has threatened legal action or arrest of Issa Tchiroma Bakary for encouraging protests. Other opposition figures have already been detained, with an estimated 23 citizens killed on the streets by security forces.
Before the vote, commentators, church leaders and civil society groups questioned the wisdom of extending Biya’s forty-three-year rule, given the country’s poverty, economic problems, inflation, corruption and well-documented human rights violations. Widespread dissatisfaction has increased over the past decade due to the unresolved Anglophone Crisis, persistent Boko Haram violence, and the influx of refugees from the CAR. Further, Biya has not appeared since his win was proclaimed, giving rise to rumours such as suggestions that he wears diapers, has spray-on hair, and may not know the names of those around him.
It is widely believed that Biya’s inner circle encouraged multiple candidates to enter the race for the presidency in an attempt to split the anti-Biya vote. However, Cameroonians rallied around one candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, hoping to peacefully choose a leader through the ballot box. It is incumbent on the international community to apply sustained and robust pressure on the ruling elite to acknowledge their citizens’ desire for change.
