Virtually all segments of the population in Cameroon must have by now heard of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM. Since the creation of ELECAM through Law N° 2006/011 of 29 December 2006 and the subsequent appointment of officials in 2009 to manage the affairs of the body, much has been said and done about the electoral process in the country. However, the real issue has been the rather lukewarm attitude of some potential electorates towards the voter registration exercise in Cameroon.

With a population of over 19 million inhabitants, Cameroon has hardly had five million voters in any given election. Such indifference by the population underlines the importance of communicating on the necessity for everyone to be part of the democratisation process currently going on in the country. For instance, several measures have been taken by President Paul Biya to encourage transparency in the activities of ELECAM so as to inspire confidence in the structure and get Cameroonians to register for elections. They include a reduction in the cost of the issuance of national identification card and the total elimination of the financial charges related to the exercise. With that done, the next challenge is for ELECAM to get the people fully involved in the electoral process.

Luckily, the country is so structured into civil society organisations, community meetings, as well as other formal and informal groupings through which the objectives and actions of ELECAM can be made known to the public.

By reaching out to these sectors of the community, there are higher chances of making the population aware of the need to register and vote as well as understand the role of popular participation in changing the way state affairs are managed. Of course, there is gainsaying a good number of people continue to show lack of concern and ignorance about the contribution that each individual can make in the building of a modern Cameroon. People are often caught in the unfortunate attitude of waiting to see what others will do for the country do before they join. Yet, the positive action that every citizen takes, even in a hidden part of the country, is as important as that of those on the centre stage.

Thus, it would not be too much for ELECAM to take its communication strategy seriously because it is only when people are made to understand the importance of anything that they adhere. Cameroonians need to be made to see why they should not only go for the national identification card because it is free, but obtain the card, register to vote and effectively exercise such a civic right in order to enable Cameroon evolve with enough checks and balance for a stable society.