MPs unhappy about gov't's silence on ELECAM crisis

Members of Parliament in Cameroon have expressed concern over government’s silence on the ELECAM crisis.

Samuel Fonkam Azu'u, the president of the Electoral Council, and Sani Tanimou, the director general of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), remain in a long standoff and the national representatives demands an account of the issue from the ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.

MPs fear that the misunderstanding at ELECAM could undermine preparations for the forthcoming elections.

Also based on discussions at the Chamber of Ekelle Ngoa, the incompetence that currently prevails at ELECAM is likely to impair the operation of this structure.

The La Nouvelle Expression newspaper disclosed that Samuel Fonkam Azu'u and Sani Tanimou engaged in a supremacy battle which they try to deny. Fonkam Azu'u who recently tried to avoid the issue: "You saw the members of the Electoral Council, did it look like a tensed atmosphere?”

Yet there are many instances reflecting the bad relationship between the president of the Electoral Council and the Chief Electoral Officer. One was the refusal by ELECAM to install regional delegates unanimously appointed by members of the Electoral Council of July 9, 2014. Another was the refusal to sign employment contracts of support staff of ELECAM by the Electoral Council.

The Government has remained silent. Minister Delegate to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Jules Doret Ndongo, stated that the government’s role is to “solve practical financial problems. That's where our role ends. There is a regulation which states that we are not allowed to interfere in its daily management. "

This did not prevent parliamentarians from condemning the government’s silence on the subject. La Nouvelle Expression quoted the RDPC MP, Francis Enwé: "The situation in ELECAM affect the conduct of registration on the electoral lists. It is an issue that may also affect future elections”.