Cameroon: Controversies Around the Electoral Campaign · Global Voices
This page is part of our special coverage Cameroon Elections 2011.
The Central African Republic of Cameroon is in the last week of the presidential campaign that will end on October 9, 2011. While international election monitors have arrived in the country to observe the elections, the electoral campaign activities failed to convince most Cameroonians of the importance of what is at stake.
The conspicuous absence of <PERSON>
Criticised for the fact that he spends more time abroad than in the country, <PERSON>, the incumbent president and candidate is now being blamed for his absence from the political debate.
This subject has been feeding debate on the Twitter hashtag dedicated to the presidential election: #cmr11.
Campaign poster for <PERSON>, the incumbent candidate from <PERSON> on Facebook
Referring to the slogan chosen by the outgoing president for his campaign “The People's choice” Etumnamboa [fr], wonders on Twitter:
Je ne comprends pas il est le “Choix du Peuple” mais ne s'approche jamais de son peuple et a peur de lui
I don't understand, he is the “People's Choice”, but he does not dare approach his people and seem to fear it.
According to <PERSON> of the Social Democratic Front in Canada on the information site camer.be [fr], the president's attitude is not a positive sign towards the population and towards Cameroon's international partners:
[…] disparaître du paysage politqiue une semaine après le lancement de la campagne électorale est plus qu’un mépris envers le peuple camerounais mais une insulte grave envers tous les bailleurs de fonds et les partenaires du Cameroun
[…] to disappear from the political landscape one week after the electoral campaign kicked off is more than showing contempt for the Cameroonian people, it is also a serious insult to donors and to international partners of Cameroon
<PERSON>'s announced visit in Maroua, the biggest city of northern Cameroon, did not seem to convince Cameroonian netizens. Twitter user <PERSON> [fr], ironically commented about <PERSON>'s presence in the north on Twitter:
Attention au choléra…
Beware of cholera…
<PERSON> refers to the fact that the north of the country is particularly affected by a cholera outbreak which has already caused the death of 500 Cameroonians so far.
In the following video posted on YouTube on the <PERSON> 2011 campaign page:
<PERSON> dismissed the critics discussing potential division between the north and the south [fr], declaring during his visit to Maroua:
Je suis venu à Maroua pour marquer l’importance que j’attache à votre région, à la paix et aux problèmes du monde rural dans notre nouvelle dynamique pour mettre notre pays sur la voie de l’émergence
I came to Maroua to showcase my attachment to your region, to peace and to problems of the rural world. This is in regards to our new dynamic to put our country on the way up to proeminence
On one of the statuses [fr] published on his official Facebook Page, <PERSON>, a Bamenda based Cameroonian facebook user commented:
Personne ne peut gérer le Cameroun mieux que vous.Vous avez mon appui tout le temps.
No one can manage Cameroon better than you. 575
You have all my support all the time.
According to Twitter user <PERSON> [fr], the president will be campaigning in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, on October 5, 2011:
Le Nnom Ngii est à Douala demain, le 17h de CRTV est entrain de donner le programme. […]
The Chief of the Chiefs will be in Douala tomorrow, on the 5 pm news broadcast of the CRTV [Cameroonian National Television] according to the television program. […]
The information was confirmed on <PERSON>'s official Facebook Page. The visit could be considered historical: <PERSON> hasn't been to the city since September 20, 1991, when a crackdown on the opposition occured*. 892