2025 Presidential Election: SDF Shadow Cabinet Minister Says No Opposition Party Can Alone Win The Election In Cameroon

Ngan Nguidjol rejects allegation that the SDF is against idea of an opposition alliance

  Says the SDF is open to dialogue with all serious opposition parties and civil society organizations

SDF leader, Hon Joshua Osih, has been stressing on the serious problem of polling agents that opposition  face at presidential elections

The Minister of Communication in the SDF Shadow Cabinet, Moise Raymond Ngam Nguidjol, has asserted that with the political situation in Cameroon, no opposition party can alone win the presidential election.  He made the assertion while responding to questions from the moderator of the programme, DEBRIEF, over Canal 2 International in Douala. He was one of the panelists in a political debate.

.   The SDF official strongly rejected an allegation that has been circulating, that the party is against the idea of the opposition forming a bloc or an alliance, to face the candidate of the ruling CPDM, at next year’s crucial presidential election.  Ngan Nguidjol said contrary to the allegation, the SDF is open to dialogue with all opposition parties and civil society organizations, on the 2025 presidential election. He said during his last nationwide tour to meet SDF militants at the grassroots, the National Chairman of the party, Hon Joshua Nambangi Osih, discussed the issue with militants, and explained to them the position of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party on the issue of an opposition coalition for the 2025 presidential election. The position of NEC is that the party is open to dialogue with other serious opposition parties and civil society organizations, on the presidential election.

 Big Opposition Coalition

From the look of things, the SDF’s idea is that of having a big opposition collation or alliance which is more pragmatic, instead of talking of a unique opposition candidate, which in Cameroon looks impossible for a number of reasons. For example, in the Cameroon political landscape, there are a lot of jokers in the pack or adventurers, passing for opposition. And so no matter what is done, there will always be individuals or parties, claiming to be of the opposition, that for one reason or the other, will go solo during presidential election.

The situation in Cameroon is similar to that of many Francophone African countries. That is why the idea of a unique opposition candidate is in reality, an ideal in these countries. Rather, the best alternative in these countries including Cameroon is to have a big opposition coalition or alliance, like the Union of Change that supported the candidature of Ni John Fru Ndi, at the 1992 presidential election.

The SDF’s Approach

Meanwhile, the Communication Minister in the SDF Shadow Cabinet, Moise Raymond Ngan Nguidjol, said in the TV programme that as the National Chairman of the SDF, Hon Joshua Osih, has repeatedly explained on this issue of an opposition coalition, it is not a good idea to rush on the issue.  He said Hon Osih thinks, and rightly too, that political parties ought to first of all sensitize their militants on what a coalition or an alliance is all about, the sacrifices that parties should expect to make, what is expected of militants, and so on. Serious opposition parties thinking of a coalition or an alliance for the 2025 presidential election should also work on their programmes, so that if things get to the point where they have to sit down and discuss, the different parties should be able to put something serious on the table for discussion. This approach is much more serious especially to a party like the SDF which talks of power to the people, than party leaders just rushing to go and sit down on the table empty handed, and without the militants also having been sensitized, and start talking a so called coalition.

Difficulties To Have Polling Agents Across The Country

One other serious issue that the SDF Shadow Cabinet Minister, raised to show the importance for serious opposition parties to work together at the presidential election, is the issue of polling agents. That is what many Cameroonians seem not to consider, when talking about the presidential election.  The issue of polling agents, who should as well be credible, is one of the biggest problems that confront opposition parties and their candidates at the presidential election.  There are more than 24,000 polling stations across the country.

In Cameroon, opposition parties that send in candidates for a presidential election, also usually have the big problem of been unable to have polling agents in all the polling stations across the country. The main reason is that, no matter what they say, opposition parties in reality are not implanted in all the nooks and crannies of this country like the ruling party (CPDM) . The ruling CPDM has the illegal advantage of having access to State funds, and  that it also uses local administrative and traditional authorities,  as well as civil servants in the different localities.

The Case Of Kamto At The 2018 Presidential Election

Barely a day after the 2018 presidential election for example, one of the opposition candidates, Prof Maurice Kamto of MRC, declared that he had won the election. But the fact of the matter was that he and his team did not have any concrete evidence to prove the claim. He did not even have PVs from all the polling stations across the country. The CPDM party was in fact right to say that there were many polling stations in some parts of the country, where there were no MRC polling agents. In fact no opposition party in the election had polling agents in all the polling stations, especially in rural areas. We are talking here of the regions where there is no war, and so we leave out here the Northwest and Southwest Regions, and part of the Far North Region.

When the opposition has no polling agents at some polling stations, the ruling CPDM does what it knows best, which is to stuff ballot boxes or falsify results to its favour.

Meanwhile after declaring that he had won the 2018 presidential election, Kamto and his men contacted some of the opposition candidates at the election, to beg for their PVs from polling stations, where their parties had polling agents and MRC did not. The question, that observers posed, was on what basis then, Kamto declared that he had won the election, when he did not have enough PVs to justify that. Even when Kamto took his claim of purported stolen victory to the African Union, the African Union Commission asked him to come with concrete evidences, which in reality he did have.

If the Cameroon opposition had a unique candidate or a big collation at the 2018 presidential election for example, it would have been possible for the opposition to adopt a strategy to have polling agents at all the polling stations across the country, by sharing out the responsibility based to political parties in different regions, based on the implantation of the different parties of the alliance, in the country.

40,000 Polling Agents  

One of the few, if not the only opposition leader, who has seriously been talking about this problem of polling agents, is Hon Joshua Osih. He started raising this issue, long before he became the National Chairman of the SDF. As Ngan Nguidjol said, Chairman Osih has been stressing the fact that for an opposition party for the presidential election to prepare well, the party among other things needs to select and train some 40,000 polling agents across the country. Part of them will be accredited to be inside the over 24,000 polling stations across the country, some will serve as assistants, some will be reserves, and some will play other roles.

 But as Osih has been explaining, to select and train 40,000 polling agents, is a costly project. Besides the money that will go for the selection and training of polling agents,  the polling agents are also supposed to be fed, and also get some ‘perdiem’ on the election day.  It should not just be taken for granted that they are militants of the party.  During legislative and municipal elections, the situation is not too bad for opposition parties, because some candidates with financial means take measures to see that polling agents of their parties in their different constituencies, are fed on the voting day. But the situation is different at the presidential elections, as it is the parties that take care of polling agents.

When Polling Agents Of An Opposition  Candidate Or Party, Eat s CPDM Food

There have often been cases at different elections in Cameron, especially the presidential election, where CPDM agents share the meals or smacks brought to them, with the polling agents of some opposition parties that have nothing to eat.  And at the end it becomes difficult for those polling agents of opposition parties, to stand up against any move by the CPDM to fraud.

It is to avoid situations like this and others, that the National Chairman of the SDF, Hon Joshua Osih, lays emphasis on the need for the opposition to pay much attention to the issue of polling agents, when talking about preparations for the 2025 presidential election. A serious coalition of opposition parties and civil society organizations for the 2025 presidential election, is supposed to raise funds to be able to select, train and take proper care of 40,000 polling agents across the country. Unfortunately, from what has been observed at multi party presidential elections over the years with the few opposition coalitions created, perhaps with the exception of Union for Change in 1992, is that it is the presidential candidate and his party,  that foots almost all, or even all the bills, while the other members of the coalition contributes very little or nothing.  Rather, they wait on the candidate to provide them with campaign funds.

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