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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Cameroon set for Sunday vote as Paul Biya seeks seventh term |
| 2018-10-07 |
| [Al Jazeera] Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... ’s borders have been closed, security personnel deployed across regions as voters head to the polls on Sunday to elect their next president. Incumbent Paul Biya, 85, is seeking re-election for a seventh term amid ongoing violence and tensions in the country's English-speaking southwest and northwest. Biya faces an eleventh-hour attempt by the opposition parties to forge a unified front under Maurice Kamto, leader of the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC). Cameroon's electoral commission has long faced accusations of unfairly favouring Biya, who has been in power since 1982, making him one of Africa's longest-serving rulers. The opposition has accused the government of plans to rig the election, alleging that polling cards have been forged and that voter registration has continued despite the process being officially closed. Prominent think-tank, International Crisis Group (ICG), wants the concerns of the opposition addressed. "In the absence of agreement on the rules of the game, opposition activists could contest results, possibly with violence. Fraud, including vote-buying, ballot boxes stuffing and the falsification of results, all of which are common in Cameroon, make such protests all the likelier," the group said in a statement. Nkongho Felix Agbor, leader of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), told Al Jazeera he is unhappy with the lack of unity among the opposition. "The failure of the principal opposition leaders to form a winning coalition might just be the reason why President Biya will be re-elected," Agbor said. |
| Posted by:Fred |