Following a joint interview protocol introduced by a number of media outlets, Dr Erik Essousse, Director General of Elections Cameroon had the opportunity this Monday, April 29, 2024 in the conference room to address concerns.
1-With calls for mass voter registration intensifying on all sides, has Elecam set up any special arrangements on the eve of the election?
Éric Essousse: Thank you for your question. As you know, Elecam is the body in charge of elections in Cameroon, be they presidential or any other. We organize the registrations with our own teams and with most of our branches throughout the country. We have mobile teams who make the rounds in their areas of competence in order to register all people of voting age (20 years and over). We do this every day, Monday to Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., from January 1 to August 31 each year. The law does not allow us to do so, but exceptionally we can do it on Saturdays under certain conditions.
2-In the same vein, some political parties are citing difficulties linked to the defective nature of Elecam's kits, and even their inadequacy. How do you respond? What about the renewal of the biometric stock announced by Elecam?
Éric Essousse: As far as our kits are concerned, I must first say that our first-generation kits, which date from 2013 and were acquired under the mandate of the former DG, give us complete satisfaction. These kits are still in the field, but we also have the 2nd generation kits, which have caused us a few problems because their technical features are not satisfactory. So we're combining the two, which is why there are registrations in the field, since we do the registrations every January 2, since the 1st is a public holiday, which shows that our kits are working. On the other hand, given that the kits are the basic element for voter registration, the government has given us the means to renew the entire stock. But to ensure that we have a reliable tool, we are currently working with our technicians and our partners to ensure that we can get a kit that is exactly like the first ones, i.e. those of 2013, because those of 2018 are not entirely satisfactory. The government has listened to our grievances and provided us with the necessary means to acquire, by the beginning of 2025, new kits that meet all our expectations and those of the public.
3-Some PCRN activists who are members of mixed commissions have noted that some people who have been enrolled since 2020 have still not received their electoral cards. What can explain this state of affairs?
Éric Essousse: Yes, we need to clarify this situation. We've had problems with some of our printers for printing voting cards. To address this concern, the government has provided us with the means to resolve the problem. These printers are available from our partners, as local traders are excessively expensive, but we have already ordered them, and once they have been received and technically installed, the cards will be produced again.
4- Isn't this social networking campaign to encourage Cameroonians to register en masse for the electoral roll a great opportunity for Elecam to boost its figures? What digital strategy has Elecam put in place to optimize exploitation?
Eric Essousse: I don't think this agitation, if I can call it that, is a bad thing in itself, but we want to work in a professional manner and ensure that all Cameroonians of voting age are enrolled on the electoral roll in accordance with the conditions laid down by law, i.e. to be of Cameroonian nationality, enjoy their civic and political rights, be 20 years old and be able to register. At the same time, we do a lot of communication through social networks (Twitter, whatsapp, Facebook) in short, we use modern tools that enable us to communicate with people to get them to register. But I simply wanted us to know one thing: that Elecam Hirsch should not be drawn away from its competencies, because our activity is well regulated by the law. Political parties can make their contribution by inviting their supporters and activists, but this must be done in accordance with current legislation governing voter registration. And I repeat, it's Monday to Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and our teams often go beyond that to finish by 5 p.m. whenever possible. Our agents must not be asked to work at any time, except in very specific exceptional cases. I think we're going to keep on communicating, and I think you're our relays in the field.
5- Some citizens who wish to register do not always find their way around Elecam's sites. How do you communicate the location of Elecam's 360 communal branches, and the schedule of Elecam's mobile teams?
Eric Essousse: We're doing everything we can to get people to sign up. In all the communal offices, raids are coordinated by party agreement with the political parties according to a pre-established timetable. I'm rather surprised to learn that people are jostling each other in certain places to form an Indian girl. It's a legal requirement for every citizen of voting age to register in order to get his or her card and, when the time comes, fulfill his or her civic duty. Let's be careful not to have any duplicates. There are more than two hundred thousand registered voters, but it's only after we've cleaned up the numbers that we'll know the exact figure.
6- Elections Cameroon teams deployed even on weekends, is this an instruction from the hierarchy? If not, what is your position on the matter?
Éric Essousse: I'd like to make it clear that this can be done, but on an exceptional basis. For the time being, Sundays are reserved for prayer. In certain cases, we authorize enlistments on Saturdays, but not on Sundays for the time being.
7- In the run-up to the 2025 presidential elections, what is the situation regarding the registration of Cameroonians living abroad?
Eric Essousse: I can see that there's a lot of ink flowing, but we're in the process of organizing this aspect of our work. With Nis kits having a few problems, we could have done it already, and the technicians are hard at work now that it's done, our teams are already on the ground. I've just been in touch with a few ambassadors, the one in Brussels where there's a bit of a stir, the one in Paris, in South Africa too, but only those compatriots who don't have dual nationality are concerned; they have to present their consular card, their passport and the residence card showing that they were really established in this territory.
8- What are the current statistics since the start of the 2024 review?
Éric Essousse: As I mentioned earlier, we've had almost two hundred thousand (200,000) registrations since the start of the year, including 148,000 young people, women and people with disabilities. We're satisfied with these figures at the moment, even though they still need to be cleaned up when the time comes to extract duplicates and the like. We must remain professional.
Interviewed by Clément Noumsi
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