Fears of the capacity of the elections governing body, Elections Cameroon, ELECAM successfully organising the 30 September 2013 Legislative and Municipal elections are gradually being assuaged by the role that the institution has been playing of late.

Even before the campaigns began on 15 September, members of the Electoral Board of ELECAM were seen criss-crossing the entire national territory to ensure that voters’ cards and electoral material were in place. Their activities have even intensified with the start of the campaigns.           

Sequel to the ELECAM presence on the ground, several issues are being handled with relative adroitness. In spite of the recurrent problem of bad roads in some regions like the South West, officials of ELECAM have been giving guarantees that all electoral material will be ready before the elections take place.  

Emmanuel Njang, Regional Delegate of ELECAM in the South West has not only made a full appraisal of the difficulties, but he has equally previewed possible solutions, noting that support from the administration and the Defence Forces is being sought to ensure the distribution of election material to remote localities and areas with difficult access roads.

A similar air of confidence has been evident in the North West Region where the Board Chair of ELECAM, Samuel Fonkam Azu’u, has been on tour in all seven divisions to verify and make corrections where needed for a hitch-free elections.  In a swift move to allay fears of malpractices in certain ELECAM offices, the ELECAM Divisional Delegate in Boyo, Ndifor Daouda and the Belo Council head, Linda Nange, were taken off their posts by the ELECAM Board Chairman.
In other regions like the East and North, political parties have received several reminders from ELECAM to provide the names those they would want to have in the Electoral Commission. No one needs to insist so much on the importance of the Commission in the electoral process, especially when talking about the credibility of results which often gives room for criticisms and even protests. The effective presence of political parties through their representatives at the polling stations can be a strong recipe for transparent elections.

In addition, the public has not only been made aware of existing polling stations, but the number of voters’ cards produced and the distribution rate has been subject of constant updates by ELECAM officials. This makes it possible for voters to be in possession of their cards and to eventually know where they have to vote.

Compared to what obtained prior to the putting in place of ELECAM, no one may need special eye glasses to be given assurances that much is being done and has already been done to encourage Cameroonians of the chances of a free and fair electoral exercise come 30 September 2013. While ELECAM officials rightfully concede that they still have much work to ensure that the elections are free and transparent, even the most   acerbic critics seem to concur that ELECAM is up to the task and the members of the ELECAM Board are proving their mettle throughout the national territory. Against such a background, political parties and voters may only have one thing to do on voting day, accomplish their civic duty by casting their votes.