Cameroon presidential election: A vote or a coronation?

DW (English)

President Paul Biya of Cameroon plans to run for an eighth term in October. Supporters say his experience matters but critics see presidential elections in the Central African country as mere coronations.

Transcript

00:00In the years of 1960.

00:10Cameron's presidential election is set for October 12th and President Paul Beer,

00:15who has been in power since 1982, says he will seek another term.

00:19He says that Staying On is about ensuring the security and well-being of Cameranians,

00:31a sacred duty to which he has devoted time and energy.

00:35Others, however, argue that the Central African country is not a monarchy

00:39and deserves more than a recycled leader with empty promises.

00:43So in a country where citizens are desperate for a change,

00:46how is it possible for a 92-year-old to retain power for so long,

00:51even ranking as the world's oldest president?

00:54Welcome to The Flipside.

00:57If Beer wins another seven-year term in office, he could serve until he's almost 100.

01:04Supporters argue that his experience is unmatched.

01:07In a country battling separatist insurgencies and economic uncertainty,

01:12the CBA asks the safest pair of hands.

01:14We think that the longer you stay, the longer you work, the more experienced you are

01:19and you can be able to govern the country.

01:22Cameroon is such a complicated, complex environment.

01:27So many ethnic groups, so many political parties, so many religions and so on.

01:32You need somebody who has experience to be able to govern.

01:36But in reality, there are so many Cameroonians who say they want a new leader.

01:41Since I was born, I've known just one president who has been there for more than 40 years.

01:45I would love to see at least three or four different presidents, just like the United States and also the case of Senegal,

01:55where you have a young man ruling the nation.

01:57Someone like that should be somewhere resting, not ruling the country again.

02:02So we need new ideas, new people to come to bring new ideas to develop the country.

02:08Why can't he leave a younger person to take over?

02:11We need young people in our country, people who are so energetic, that can do a lot of things.

02:15Because right now he's already very old, like the age of 92 years, why is he doing in power?

02:20The problem is that the system in Cameroon makes that nearly impossible.

02:24In 2008, Bia scrapped presidential term limits, clearing the way for him to run indefinitely.

02:31And what about the Electoral Commission?

02:32Well, it reports directly to the president, not the parliament.

02:36So under Cameroonian law, Bia's candidacy is legal.

02:40And every election ends the same way.

02:43Bia wins, often with landslide margins of 70% or more.

02:48But how does that even happen?

02:50You go to vote, like the past election, when you go to vote, you realize that at times you look at your name,

02:55you find that it has been ticked that you already voted.

02:58I decided not to register because I looked at the past statistics of the previous votings

03:05and I came across information that Paul Bia has always been the one winning.

03:11So there's no point of me trying to register because I know at the end of the day he's still going to win.

03:17Then there is a question of fitness for office.

03:19Bia is rarely seen in public, often spending months abroad for medical care.

03:24Why has Inaxerko runs the country?

03:26The system has been rigged.

03:30The system has been frauded.

03:33And it is now even very difficult for ELECAM, Elections Cameroon, to publish a national electoral register.

03:43The board chairman of ELECAM, that's the election organizing body of Cameroon, is appointed by President Paul Bia.

03:52All the board members appointed by President Paul Bia and all of them were former members of his ruling CPD Empire team, Amigul.

04:01For context, when Bia took over from Cameroon's first president, Amadou Ahijou, he was seen as a modernizer who would usher in political reforms.

04:10Instead, he consolidated power through constitutional changes, patronage networks, and security forces loyal to him.

04:18So decades ago, Bia turned Cameroon to a de facto one-party state, despite the introduction of multi-party politics in the 1990s.

04:28Opposition parties and politicians face harassment.

04:31The media is restricted and elections feature irregularities.

04:36Bia's ruling party says this election will be free and fair.

04:40But where is the democracy when presidential term limits are gone?

04:44And your position is wicked and power deeply centralized.

04:48And that's the flip side.

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