Cameroon: Far from peace after the presidential elections

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP, the first results of the presidential elections in Cameroon are not to be seen as a sign of hope regarding efforts towards peace in the country, which is suffering from an ongoing civil war. "For the new government, efforts towards a political solution to the civil war must have top priority. The election outcome in the Anglophone regions, which are seeking state independence, are not exactly convincing. The fact that only very few people dared to cast a vote is a disaster for Cameroon's democracy," emphasized Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, in Göttingen on Monday. 

This afternoon, the Constitutional Council of Cameroon announced the eagerly awaited first results of the presidential election of October 7, 2018. As was to be expected, President Paul Biya, who has been ruling the country for 35 years, was re-elected. 

"We hope that President Biya does not see the election result as an encouragement to continue to ignore the escalating civil war or to reinforce the security forces. To keep Cameroon from sinking into chaos and violence, the new political leadership must finally make a credible effort to start a dialogue with recognized representatives from the Anglophone regions," Delius explained. 

In the English-speaking north-west of the country, only 5 percent of the enrolled voters had gone to the polls – and in the south-west, which is also Anglophone, not even 15 percent of the registered voters had cast their vote. There are several reasons for the low voter turnout. Thus, almost 300,000 people in the civil war zones are on the run. Many people also fear reprisals from the groups that are fighting for independence of the Anglophone regions (and which had also called for an election boycott). For others, staying away from the polls is a means to emphasize that they no longer feel attached to the state of Cameroon. 

Today, the situation in the English-speaking areas was very tense – similar to the actual election day. In the southwestern town of Buea, many shots were to be heard. Before, the security forces had stepped up the security measures in the city.

Header image: jbdodane via Flickr