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Institutional Reforms: A Democratic Priority

rue determination, it is said, is translated through action. In the same vein, veritable determination can equally be measured through words. That, in essence, was the understanding that threaded through Cameroonians during the inaugural speech of the Head of State, President Paul Biya at the National Assembly last Thursday, November 03.

“I want to reaffirm my determination to continuously improve our electoral system.” The weight of this statement is not only in the wordings themselves but in the empirical airs it carries. The President was talking here about a subject that remains in the centre of national interest. Election, democrats believe, is the cornerstone of democracy, even though several other components exist without which the process will remain incomplete. Cameroon’s democracy has come of age and is progressing, though at what some critics continue to describe as snail pace. But as the Head of State said in his speech, “our democratic system has been gradually taking root, consolidating and improving.”

 
President Biya particularly hailed the National Assembly as one of the institutions that have effectively translated democratic change in the country. “The work of the National Assembly is a good example of this. It is the scene, in committees or in plenary sessions, of serious – sometimes very heated – debates which are evidence of the vitality of the institution. Far from being a mere “rubber stamp”, it plays a key role in our democratic life.” To make it even more perfect, the Head of State promised to institute the other arm of parliament, the Senate, as enshrined in the constitution of the Republic. “The National Assembly will soon be backed by a Senate. Legislative power will thus be exercised by a complete Parliament where regional and local authorities will also be represented”, he said.

 From every indication, institutional set up constitutes a solid base for democratic takeoff and progress. This certainly explains why the President in his speech gave pride of place to reforming and completing the pending institutions in a bid to fast-track the country’s democratic stride. “We will also have to set up the Constitutional Council which is an essential organ for the functioning of our institutions”, he announced. So far, the role of the Constitutional Council has remained in the hands of the Supreme Court.

The decentralisation process being an essential component of democracy, notably as concerns empowering the local population to partake in the management of the country’s affairs, the Head of State said, promised its acceleration. This, he said, will be done through the establishment and strengthening of regional councils as provided for by the constitution. “Furthermore, the decentralization process, which is being implemented in a satisfactory manner, will be seen through with the full transfer of powers and the establishment of the regional councils provided for by our Constitution.”

The milestone covered in the country’s democratic process is surely significant, especially as can be seen in the various institutions that already exist but, as the Head of State said in his speech, there is need to improve on it. This entails panel beating Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) which has so far received a heavy chunk of criticisms from some opposition parties. “Although progress has definitely been made in electoral democracy, it remains that some adjustments have to be made to our electoral body to improve its functioning. Therefore, as in the past, we remain open to suggestions and recommendations”, he stated.

This statement suggests that the reform of ELECAM is the responsibility of all in the spirit of freedom, tolerance and civic responsibility. When the various institutions must have been completely set up and made to function smoothly, Cameroon’s democracy will be said to have gone another extra mile.








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