As Cameroon gears up for the 2025 presidential elections, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) has embarked on a nationwide consultation with stakeholders to ensure free, fair, and transparent polls.
In Bamenda on Wednesday 22nd January 2025, the President of Elections Cameroon, Dr Enow Abrams Egbe, led a delegation to the North West Region to consult with local stakeholders.
While addressing the gathering, he emphasized the significance of collaboration and support from all stakeholders in ensuring the success of the electoral process. "We solicit for your total collaboration and support as we move towards the presidential elections," he said. "This will permit us to have free and transparent elections."
Stakeholders of the Electoral process
Enow Abrams Egbe, reassured the audience of ELECAM's preparedness for the elections. "We are ready for the elections, and we are putting all hands on deck to ensure this," he said. "Elections cannot take place without political parties and the members of the civil society."
The consultation also focused on voter registration, a critical aspect of the electoral process. In 2024, ELECAM targeted 26,436 registrations in the North West Region. A total of 28,600 persons were registered representing 108.2% of the target. Additionally, 24 individuals changed their polling stations in 2024 according to the Regional Delegate of ELECAM North West, Mbowoh Elvis.
For 2025, ELECAM has set an ambitious target of registering 45,000 new electors in the region. As of now, 2,334 new electors have been registered. To facilitate the registration process, ELECAM has stationed registration kits at all police identification units.
However, challenges persist, particularly in areas with limited or no identification units, such as Andek, Njikwa, Widikum, Bali, and Mbiame.
ELECAM officials called on the electoral stakeholders to work together to ensure that elections take place across the region without disturbances from separatist fighters.
To address concerns about voter accessibility, ELECAM discussed plans to create new polling stations to decongest existing polling centers.
Total registration stands at 620,909 electors in the North West region as at 31st of December 2024.
The region currently has 410,010 registered voters.
In his remarks, the Regional Chairman of the SDF, Fonguh Cletus highlighted the need for outdated registration kits to be replaced. He also emphasized the importance of securing polling stations to prevent intimidation from separatist fighters and for the polling centers to be dissolved.
In response, Dr Enow Abrams Egbe explained that the grouping of polling stations to polling centers was a proposal made by the actors on the ground to also protect the lives of the voters. With regards to increasing the number of security personnel across the region and polling stations, he said; "You people will be the ones to say security elements have been brought in to inflate the number of voters and hence change the course of the elections." Dr Enow said.
ELECAM officials assured stakeholders that new, less cumbersome registration kits would arrive in February, facilitating the registration process.
As Cameroon counts down to the 2025 presidential elections, ELECAM's consultation with stakeholders in the North West Region marks a crucial step towards ensuring inclusive, transparent, and peaceful polls.
By
Ndi Tsembom Elvis
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