With barely two weeks before Cameroon heads to the polls, renowned democracy advocate Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh has issued a searing warning that a sham election on October 12 could push the country to the brink.
The Washington-based Senior Associate for Africa and Regional Director at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) did not mince words. Drawing from three decades of democratic struggles across Africa, Dr. Fomunyoh declared that the regime's old tricks of manipulation, intimidation, and vote-rigging will no longer pass unchecked.
"Cameroonians are more aware and better informed today than ever before" he said. "Those who think they can predetermine the outcome of this election are playing with fire. If the process is hijacked, the consequences will be dire for them and for the entire nation."
He highlighted ELECAM's credibility crisis, warning that if the electoral body succumbs to pressure from "overzealous administrators and security officials the institution will be complicit in sowing chaos. "ELECAM must prove that it serves the people, not a handful of men in power he insisted.
Dr. Fomunyoh also turned his guns on the ruling elite, accusing them of arrogance and waste: "The unbelievably arrogant few who have lived in irrational opulence while the masses languish in poverty must know their time is up. A nation cannot be rebuilt on corruption, financial scandals, and the
blood of its own citizens."
Citing the humanitarian catastrophe in the North West and South West Regions, the relentless Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North, and the staggering numbers of
internally displaced citizens, Dr. Fomunyoh demanded accountability from those in power.
"How can anyone pretend to govern when over a million compatriots are internally displaced and live in misery
and hopelessness? How can leaders boast when hospitals collapse, roads are death traps, and our youth flee the country in droves?" For Dr. Fomunyoh, the stakes could not be higher: "Countries that rig elections destroy themselves. Countries that respect the will of their people rise in dignity and progress. Which side of history do we want Cameroon to stand on?".
In a fiery appeal to all the presidential candidates, he warned that "History will not forgive those who trade the nation's future for their egos. If they betray the people's trust, they will carry the burden of a broken Cameroon on their consciences."
As election day approaches, his message rings like a battle cry: "Cameroon needs profound reconciliation and reform. Only a free, fair, and transparent election can save us from implosion. Anything less is a
recipe for disaster."
Dr. Fomunyoh's solemn appeal was simultaneously carried by major media outlets including the Guardian Post, MUTATIONS, Le Jour and Le Messager.
Comments
Post a Comment