Photo- Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya
Cameroonian political
parties have crisscrossed the country ahead of the presidential
elections on Sunday. Except for one candidate, no one has been able to
organize campaigns in the restive Anglophone regions.
Eight
candidates representing a string of opposition parties are vying to oust
85-year-old incumbent President Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since
1982 and is also seeking a seventh term.
But unrest in most parts of
the country has triggered a serious refugee crisis, forcing thousands
of residents to flee to neighboring Nigeria.
On Thursday, President
Paul Biya’s campaign team came under gun fire as their convoy was
driving top speed through the main highway into Buea, capital of the
English-speaking southwest region.
Several supporters of the ruling
CPDM party were injured in the gunfire exchange between government
troops and armed separatists. Biya himself was not part of the Buea
campaign convoy. One of Biya’s party official Gerald Ngalla told DW that
“the president was worried that his presence in Buea could lead to
further bloodshed.”
Credible elections “impossible”
Prince Ekosso,
head of the United Socialist Democratic Party, believes the election
will be flawed. “It is impossible for credible elections to take place
in the northwest and the southwest,” Ekosso said.
Ekosso’s party,
which had maintained a traditional support base in the south, could not
hold any rally in the restive region, due to threats by the separatists,
who have vowed to stop the elections in the Anglophone areas. “As a
matter of fact, the towns and cities of the northwest and the southwest
have been deserted,” Ekosso said.
He added that: “It’s already late now for anything to be done for free and fair elections to take place in the two regions.”
Opposition
candidates have also been avoiding the restive regions too. FDP
candidate Akere Muna was travelling through the English-speaking town of
Mutengene and was chased by angry protesters. Four civilians were
killed.
Last week, eight CPDM supporters who were planning a campaign
rally in Bamenda were kidnapped from a hotel and have not been seen
since then.
Around 246,000 people have been displaced in the
southwest, according to the UN, while no estimate exists for the
northwest region which is largely inaccessible to aid groups and
journalists.
Some 25,000 others are sheltering in neighboring
Nigeria, according to the UN. In the face of continuing clashes, a surge
of troops is planned, according to a senior official.
Elecam has
also said that some polling stations will be “relocated” in the
Anglophone region which has traditionally been a reliable well of votes
for the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) whose candidate is
Joshua Osih.
He has described the planned “relocations” in interviews as “an illegal measure” that could damage his chances.
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