Opposition parties team up ahead of parliamentary polls

Cameroonian opposition parties announced on Wednesday that they would implement a joint strategy in the 23 June parliamentary polls "so as to ensure the advent of democracy in Cameroon", although they expressed misgivings about the process. In a joint declaration, the parties expressed concern about the date chosen for the polls, which coincides with the Soccer World Cup, in which Cameroon's Indomitable Lions are participating, final year examinations in schools and the rainy seasons, in which they said some rural roads become all but impassible. "Who can believe that elections organised like that can take place in the requisite conditions of freedom, fairness, transparency and regularity?" the signatories said. They expressed concern over the numbers of voters, saying the less than four million who had registered so far were much less than the number of Cameroonians of voting age. They denounced what they describe as the fact that the election date was announced even before the Observatoire national des élections (ONEL - National Election Observatory) became operational. ONEL's brief is to supervise the election and make sure it is free and fair. In a memorandum sent to it, the opposition said that "thousands of polling stations are located in the homes of traditional chiefs, some of whom are candidates, as well as in military barracks, which opposition militants and observers cannot get into easily". Eight parties including the Social Democratic Front (SDF), Cameroon’s largest opposition group, signed Wednesday’s agreement. The SDF has 23 seats in parliament. Another major signatory was the Union nationale pour la démocratique et le progrès (National Union for Democracy and Progress) which has 13 seats and three ministers in President Paul Biya's coalition government. The parties said they would take part in the election even if the government declined to postpone it. In that case, they added, "we shall call on the people to go and vote while making sure that the electoral laws are applied rigorously and fighting election fraud by all means". They also urged prospective voters to register massively ahead of the 7 May deadline. The opposition said ONEL should seek firm commitments from the government to ensure free and fair elections. They demanded transparent ballot boxes, the use of truly indelible ink to prevent multiple voting, an equitable distribution of the 180 constituencies, the neutrality of the security forces throught the electoral process and the registration of as many Cameroonians as possible. There was no immediate reaction from the Ministry of Territorial Administration, which is organising the elections, to the opposition's demands. However, Territorial Administration Minister Ferdinand Koungou Edima had told the state-owned Cameroon Tribune in January that the elections would be free and fair.