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Cameroon in 2010

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Cameroon in 2010 Cameroon in 2010 As in the previous year, the 2011 presidential election was the central concern for all political actors. As if already campaigning, President Paul Biya, who does not usually travel inside the country except to his home village, made an official visit to the capital of the sensitive North-West region. There, he met for the first time his longstanding rival, John Fru Ndi, chairman of the main opposition party, which was still challenging the administration of the election. During the year, the regime had to face several scandals, including one caused by the death in custody of a journalist. The economy was depressed, major infrastructure development projects continued to be stalled and oil production continued to decline. Domestic politics President Biya continued to maintain uncertainty over whether he would stand again as a candidate in the 2011 presidential election. However, two events suggested that he would: Biya, who rarely at- tends meetings with his peers, tried to gain international recognition by organising in May in Yaoundé a “high level” conference named ‘Africa 21’ to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Independence of African former French colonies. Only three African presidents, Ali Bongo (Gabon), Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso) and Fradique de Menezes (São Tomé), and some international figures, such as former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Chairman of the African Union Commission Jean Ping, and a number of French political leaders, including Secretary of State for Cooperation Alain Joyandet, Alain Juppé (mayor of Bordeaux) and Michel Rocard, attended the event. A similar motive was suspected for the official visit that Biya made in December to Bamenda, capital of the North-West region, where celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Cameroonian army © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���9 | doi:��.��63/978900440�53�_004 cameroon in �0�0 �7 were the pretext for a meeting with his long-term rival, John Fru Ndi, chairman of the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF). Biya does not usually travel inside the country and his last visit to Bamenda, stronghold of the SDF, was in 1991. Furthermore, Biya had previously always refused official meetings with Fru Ndi, who continued to claim victory at the 1992 presidential elections. The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) pub- licised the Biya-Fru Ndi meeting through the media, repeating its slogan of “appeased democracy”, but many citizens did not seem to appreciate seeing Fru Ndi, whose credibility was already very low, shaking hands with Biya and some accused the SDF chairman of playing the president’s game. Moreover, Fru Ndi, like Biya, did not say whether he would run in the presidential election. Before this event, the SDF, along with other parties and civil society organisations, continually criticised Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the electoral body. In particular, they protested in March, when the CDPM pushed through an amendment increasing the involvement of the government in the organisation and conduct of the elections and making consultation with civil society optional. They all called for the dissolution of ELECAM, but refrained from extensive campaigning. In late August, the SDF published a list of 11 requirements for the presidential election, threatening to prevent the holding of the 2011 ballot if these requirements, including the appointment of new members of ELECAM and the withdrawal of the government from the electoral process, were not met. The re- gime did not react. In October, the SDF made a new attempt: in a complaint to the Supreme Court, the party demanded the cancella- tion of the voter registration process, which had started in August, claiming that ELECAM had been illegitimately established. The text of the law required that the instatement of ELECAM should be by presidential decree, which apparently had been omitted. A few days later, Biya signed the missing decree without comment. The SDF also reacted through a statement by its Douala MP, Jean Michel Nintcheu, to the publishing in April of the results of the census .
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