First Multiparty Presidential Election In 1992: Chairman Fru Ndi Was Designated Presidential Candidate Of Union For Change, Before SDF Did So.

How Ben Muna’s ambition to be SDF’s presidential candidate, gave the party and Union for Change a dose of headache

When the first multiparty presidential election in Cameroon was approaching, civil society leaders and activists of Union for Change, along the line met in Douala and designated the National Chairman of the SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi, as the presidential candidate of Union for Change. It is not really clear as to how the designation was done, but what was clear, was that leaders of opposition parties that were members of the Union for Change, were not involved.  Even Chairman Fru Ndi was not at that meeting. He was only informed after the meeting, that he had been designated as the presidential candidate of Union for Change.

Georges Cyrille Sam Mbaka, who was 1^st Vice National President of the Cameroon Democratic Union, CDU, from its creation in 1991 until 2020 when the Founding National President, Dr Adamou Ndam Njoya, passed away, disclosed over STV early this year (2024), that the CDU leader, Ndam Njoya, and  the leader of  MDP, Samuel Eboua, were neither involved nor were they consulted in the designation of Fru Ndi as presidential candidate of the Union for Change. He said Ndam Njoya and Samuel Eboua only got up one morning to read in Challenge Hebdo, Le Messager and La Nouvelle Expression, which he referred to as ‘’Holy Trinity’,  that the Union for Change had  designated Fru Ndi as the presidential candidate.  He said at that time, no one dared question or criticize anything published by the ‘Holy Trinity’. It should be noted that by then in 1992, Samuel Eboua had been pushed out of UNDP Party, and had created his own party, MDP.

Union For Change Designated Fru Ndi As Candidate Before The SDF

It should be noted as well as that the National Chairman of the SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi, was designated presidential candidate of Union for Change, when the SDF had not yet held its National Convention to elect or designate its candidate for the 1992 presidential election.  More so, Fru Ndi was not the lone aspirant in the SDF, as Ben Muna had also declared his interest to be the party’s presidential candidate. This thus meant that Muna had to run with Fru Ndi in the internal election (primary) that the SDF was to conduct at its National Convention, to choose its presidential candidate.

In both the  Union for Change and  the  SDF, there was serious concern as to what could happened, if it turned out that Ben Muna, who had the support of the Secretary General of the SDF, Dr Siga Asanga,  won the primary at the party’s  National Convention, to be the party’s presidential candidate.  How would the scenario look like, that the SDF leader, Ni John Fru Ndi, is the presidential candidate of Union for Change, and the SDF designate a different presidential candidate? Could such a situation even be possible?

Ben Muna did not help matters by bluntly rejecting proposals that he should withdraw his candidature and support that of Fru Ndi.  Suffice to say that by the time the National Convention of the SDF, at which the party was to elect its candidate for the October 1992 presidential election opened in Douala, there were two candidates, Fru Ndi and Muna, vying to be the party’s flag bearer or candidate at the election.

Not A Good Image For The SDF

One thing was certain, and it was that Chairman Fru Ndi was very popular both within and beyond the SDF. There was no question or iota of doubt, that in any free, fair and transparent election in the SDF, Fru Ndi would beat Ben Muna hands down, anytime, anywhere.

But then there were three things here. One of them was the fear of the unknown. The insistence of Batonnier Ben Muna, with the tacit support of SDF Secretary General, Dr Siga Asanga, to challenge Ni John Fru Ndi in the primary, created some fear in the  SDF that some secret or underground moves might have been put in place, that could enable Ben Muna to win the primary. One thing too, Ben Muna looked so confident about the primary. Detractors propagated allegations of corruption, precisely, that some delegates had received money to vote for Muna at the primary, which was to be by secret ballot.

The second thing, and probably the most disturbing one, was that it did not look good for the image of the SDF, that the leader should be designated as presidential candidate of Union for Change, and the candidature of the SDF leader is challenged inside the party. This was a fact, even though some people argued that the challenge of Fru Ndi by Ben Muna, instead showed that democracy was strong in the SDF. The Union for Change might not have done things the right way by selecting Chairman Fru Ndi to be the coalition’s candidate at the presidential election, before the SDF National Convention holds to select the party’s candidate. But then Union for Change had already done it, and for Fru Ndi ‘s candidature to face a challenge in the SDF, did not look good.

The third aspect was that the designation of the National Chairman of the SDF as the presidential candidate of Union for Change, did not go down well with some leaders of opposition parties in the coalition like CDU’s Ndam Njoya, MDP’s Samuel Eboua, and MPs. Jean Jacques Ekindi, who felt that they were not consulted, and so were sidelined in the decision making. It thus became an embarrassment to the leaders or members of Union for Change that designated Chairman Fru Ndi as the presidential candidate of the political alliance or political platform, that Fru Ndi’s candidature for  the presidential election was being challenged inside his own party.

Union For Change Steps In

But despite all what was said, Ben Muna still stood his ground that he wanted to be the SDF presidential candidate, and raised a lot of concern at the National Convention of the SDF, as well as in the Union for Change. There was a lot of lobbying at the Convention to persuade Ben Muna to withdraw his candidature. Senior party officials that were supporters of Fru Ndi’s candidature, tried to avoid the situation of having Fru Ndi and Ben Muna contest for the party’s ticket to be the party’s flag bearer at the presidential election. Though Fru Ndi was then far popular than Ben Muna, and thus stood the chance of crushing Muna in the primary at the Convention, there was however the fear of the fact that one could never be 100 % certain about the outcome or about the result of an election. Upsets happens in some elections. What if there was an upset in that election or primary?

Fortunately, the city of Douala which was the base of Union for Change was the host of that 1992 SDF National Convention.  While the Convention was going on with lots of uncertainty, a delegation of Union for Change zoomed in, and addressed delegates at the Convention. The delegates were reminded that Union for Change had already designated the SDF leader, Ni John Fru Ndi, as their presidential candidate. The delegation cautioned the delegates at the SDF National Convention to thus bear in mind, while doing or debating whatever they were doing or debating at the Convention, that Chairman Fru Ndi was the presidential candidate of Union for Change.

Ben Muna Finally Withdrew His Candidature 

That intervention by a delegation of Union for Change seemed to have had an effect on many delegates at the SDF Convention, who saw that it would certainly not be in the interest of the party to vote someone else than Fru Ndi, as  the party’s presidential candidate. Suffice to say at one point, Ben Muna took to the podium and after delivering a lengthy speech, announced the withdrawal of his candidature from the primary, thus leaving Fru Ndi as the lone candidate. Fru Ndi’s supporters and the Union for Change heaved a big sigh of relief. Suffice to say that the delegates at the SDF Convention, thus finally designated Ni John Fru Ndi as the party’s candidate for the October 1992 presidential election. Thus Fru Ndi became both the presidential candidate of Union for Change, as well as that of the SDF which was the leading and biggest political party in the Union for Change.

  Union For Change Was Not A Political Party

Worth noting that Union for Change was not a political party, and so could not officially register a candidate for the presidential election. Union for Change was rather an alliance of political parties and civil society organizations and activists, and not a political party.  So though Fru Ndi was designated as the presidential candidate of Union for Change, he officially went in for the 1992 presidential election as the SDF flag bearer or SDF presidential candidate. Union for Change, not being a political party, could not thus officially send in a candidate for the election. Meanwhile Union for Change designated Dr Victorin Hameni Bieleu, the National President of UFDC, as the Campaign Manager of the group, for the 1992 presidential election.

IN THE NEXT ARTICLE, THE MENTOR NEWS WILL LOOK AT HOW SOME OF THE OPPOSITION LEADERS AND MEMBERS OF UNION FOR CHANGE, REACTED TO THE DESIGNATION OF THE SDF LEADER, NI JOHN FRU NDI, AS THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIATE OF THE ALLIANCE  OR COALTION.