Regional elections unfolding in Wum, Menchum Division Facebook
At least 31 councilors, members of the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF, are said to have voted in Bamenda after the party said it would boycott the December 6 regional election.
Following the February 9, 2020, municipal elections, the Bamenda III Council became the lone council controlled by the SDF.
“Despite calls for elections boycott, the SDF councilors of Bamenda III, the lone SDF controlled council in the North West Region have actively voted today. The Mayor of Bamenda III, Fongu Cletus Tanwe, and his deputies came out to vote alongside other councilors. Approached by Journalists, he refused to comment,” Ndi Tsembom Elvis, publisher of The Observer reported.
The SDF did not field candidates in the pioneer regional elections, demanding an overhaul of electoral laws and the need to resolve the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Regions. The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM, is thus running unopposed in the two Anglophone regions.
It is not known if the SDF councilors turned out to vote in order to collect the FCFA 50,000 given to voters. Officials of the party are maintaining a suspicious silence on the issue.
Municipal councilors and traditional rulers turned out Sunday in all 13 divisional headquarters of the Northwest and Southwest Regions to cast their ballots. While municipal councilors are electing Regional Councillors, traditional rulers are electing their peers into the House of Chiefs.
The Regional Councils are expected to play a major part in deepening the country’s decentralization process. It will be the deciding organ between the State and the local councils.
The putting in place of Regions was a recommendation at last year’s Major National Dialogue. The government sees it as a solution to the socio-political crisis in the Anglophone regions.
The endowment of the North West and South West Regions with a Special Status in conformity with Section 62 Sub 2 of the Constitution which states that the law may take into consideration the specificities of certain Regions with regards to their organization and functioning, was also proposed.
Armed separatist fighters said the elections are “illegal”, promising to “arrest” anyone who participates in the process. They went on to announce a lockdown.
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