There was an understandable hue and cry from the muffled opposition in Parliament about perceived inadequacies in the new Code because, for many, the new document failed to address the multifarious shortcomings which have consistently flawed the electoral process. And this flawed picture is manifested not only in the regular catcalls from opposition circles but in the low voter turnout at the various elections which throw a spell of illegitimacy on many elected officials because they do not enjoy the confidence of the vast majority and, hence, lose in legitimacy even if legally, they are in order.
One has to take a critical look down the memory lane of national politics since the re-installation of multiparty politics in December 1990 to fully encapsulate the scope of the Electoral Code voted in Parliament last Friday night.
Take some the hot potato issues the opposition had some bones to pick with. There is the issue of a two-round option for presidential elections. As the government representatives explained to the embittered opposition MPs in the House, it was going to amount to a breach of the Constitution if the issue was to be included in the Electoral Code. The Constitution, for now, provides for a one-round vote with the leading scorer carrying the day. By acting as such, the primacy of the constitution over all other state laws was safeguarded. The same argument can be put up against those limiting the presidential term of office to five years from the present seven, the lowering of the voting age from 20 to 18 years as well as a redefinition of electoral constituencies. There are certainly some privileges that a party in the majority in Parliament would want to obtain and is in no obligation to sell off its own strategies in remaining in power. This is also what politics is about and it is in justification of this principle that President Paul Biya, on the eve of the legislative elections in July 2007 requested voters, while launching his party’s campaign, for a comfortable majority in Parliament so as to enable him carry through his reforms and policies without obstruction. Those who undermined the request at that time have themselves to blame. One cannot blame those in power for selling a political calendar that fits its whims as long as it is politically and legally acceptable.
But this does not mean the majority in Parliament has adopted a take-all attitude. In respect of the Constitution, the government withdrew its attempt to impose an “imperative term” on MPs. It has also formally brought order in the functioning of Elections Cameroon, the elections management outfit, by establishing a clear hierarchical relationship between the Electoral Board and the Directorate General of Elections, giving primacy to the former in policy orientation. That is a major advance.
The brouhaha over the adoption of the Electoral Code festered without fully measuring a very important and significant feature in the electoral process which is the introduction of biometric registration. That new element alone can transform the entire electoral process as it will address one of the most contentious issues in the process by avoiding fake or ghost voters as well as multiple voting.
It will be pretentious to say the playing field is now level enough for a perfect election. But it will also smack of bad faith to say the electoral process has not made some important progress towards improved transparency, acceptability and credibility.
