A total or partial annulment of the vote due to grave irregularities: this was the request made to the Supreme Court by six candidates of the October 9 presidential race. On the legal deadline for complaints, last night at midnight, to formally contest the electoral process, the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) of John Fru Ndi filed a total of nine complaints.
“Broils were organised almost throughout the country and therefore we are calling for the total annulment of the vote”, explained a SDF attorney, joining the stand of other formations, such as the Alliance of progressive forces (AFP). According to this opposition movement, a splinter group of the SDF, “the grave irregularities affect the legality and credibility of the vote”, as for example “the payment of sums of money to citizens for votes” in favour of the exiting President Paul Biya, in power for 29 years, as also “the lack of partiality and neutrality of international election observers”.
The Supreme Court must now review the complaints before announcing the results of Sunday’s presidential race by October 24.
The civil society and some observers have also strongly criticised the vote. “Un Monde Avenire”, which groups various civil society groups in Cameroon, denounced “grave and vast scale irregularities” and an abstention rate of 65%, which do not allow Sunday’s vote to be considered “credible, just, transparent or regular”, said the coordinator Philippe Nanga.
A less critical view has so far been expressed by the different electoral observation missions, finding “a series of logistical problems”, such as open ballot boxes, but not enough to “change the result of the vote”.
Also the African Union (AU) deplored the “low turnout”, and the Commonwealth condemned the “lack of balance and equality in media access during the electoral campaign”.
© 2011 MISNA - Missionary International Service News Agency Srl
