Editorial: SDF District Elections And Its Poor Show Of Democracy

The Social Democratic Front, SDF, the frontline opposition party in Cameron was launched in Bamenda on May 26, 1990. The SDF was created with a motto of ‘Power to the people and equal opportunities’. Over the years, the SDF like any opposition political party has contested in national elections like municipal, legislative and Presidential elections.  The National Chairman of the SDF, John Fru Ndi has contested Presidential elections with other political candidates in disperse ranks to oust incumbent President, Paul Biya of the ruling CPDM party. In all the presidential attempts, John Fru Ndi has come second to incumbent Paul Biya. In 1992, the incumbent Paul Biya won Fru Ndi by a very negligible margin, and Fru Ndi himself declared that he had won Paul Biya but was simply robbed of the victory because of a very flawed electoral system that was under the Ministry of Territorial Administration.

Since 1992, the SDF has continuously decried the electoral process in Cameroon, arguing that it does not favour the practice of genuine democracy. The SDF has at times boycotted elections on the premise that the field was not level enough to permit them compete fairly with the ruling party. But the boycotts have been inconsistent giving away the idea that they are not out to actually bargain for a genuine electoral process, but to coerce the government to succumb to some nefarious plans of the SDFs.

Government on her part has been struggling to concede to the demands of the opposition, especially the demands of the SDF to democratize Cameroon through the putting in place of an electoral process that would permit fair, free and transparent elections. It was for this reason that government created the National Elections Observatory, NEO. Despite the creation of NEO, the opposition SDF still argued that NEO was not autonomous enough to guarantee, fair, free and transparent elections. Nevertheless, the SDF contested elections under NEO, winning councils and parliamentary seats. Government again yielded to the cry of the opposition by creating Elections Cameroon, ELECAM. After the creation of ELECAM, the opposition SDF still argued and was again consulted to increase the number of the board members of ELECAM, which is now variously considered as an independent body to manage elections and referenda in Cameroon. Now ELECAM is poised to comb the fields and do biometric elections that will curb the fraud that the SDF has over the years denounced. While ELECAM is preparing a level playing field for all parties to compete in free, fair and transparent upcoming elections, the SDF is arm-twisting its electorate in District Elections.

Curiously, the SDF seems to be preaching virtue and practicing vice. Fru Ndi has often challenged the other opposition parties and the ruling CDM that it is only the SDF that embarks on primaries to select candidates for elective positions. This is true, but this is equally where the SDF has shown her weak points in the practice of democracy. The slogan of power to the people and equal opportunity by SDF is mere lip service. The SDF has the obnoxious Investiture Committee which seizes the power given to candidates by the electorate and imposes candidates on the electorate. They have been District executives, provincial executives, mayors and parliamentarians that have campaigned, burnt the midnight oil to win the hearts of the electorate only to turn around and see Ntarikon impose other people on them in the name of the investiture. Is this democracy? The story of the imposed mayors that nearly split the SDF is still fresh in the minds of many SDF militants. Most of themp wanted to swallow the bitter pill and forget about the past but the reorganization is reminding them of the past unhealed wounds.

District Elections And Poor Show Of Democracy

The long planned and several times aborted District Elections to reorganize the basic organs of the SDF are underway. But the reorganization is portraying the SDF as a very undemocratic party that triumphs in election rigging more than the CPDM that it often accuses of vote rigging. In the District reorganization in Bamenda I as well as Bamenda II, there was massive rigging, stuffing of ballot boxes, buying of votes and the ferrying in of ambulant voters. Actually, the District Elections in Bamenda I and Bamenda II portrayed the SDF at its worst, with some CPDM militants having a good laugh of those who have been blaming the government for election malpractices.

When the turn of Tubah and Bafut came for District reorganization, the same scenario that obtained in Bamenda repeated itself. There was open cheating and horse trading of votes in Tubah to the point that the elections were considered a mere sham. It took the magnanimity of some militants to stomach the sham and not engage in fighting. Yet, many SDF militants in Tubah are of the opinion that the elections should be annulled and fresh elections conducted. This seems to be the same opinion held by militants in Bafut where some SDF party bigwigs in that municipality after holding a series of nocturnal meetings ganged up to unorthodoxly oust incumbent District Chairman Barrister Benjamin Fuh  Suh. The situation in Bafut was disastrous and the SDF cannot be proud of conducting such types of elections, if at all the party still has an iota of shame. What took place in Bafut cannot be called an election for it was open horse trading and rigging.

Batibo that is known for its vibrancy in the profiles of candidates and the level of engagement, due to thye fact that it is Joseph Mbah Ndam’s fief unfortunately reverberated to the same rhythm of flawed district elections that left everybody flabbergasted. With the rhythm and the teams that are organizing the elections, chances are that the same scenario will obtain in Mbengwi given the caliber of candidates contesting and the recent wave of resignations, accusations and counter accusations that have infested the Mbengwi Electoral District. Equally, it is the fief of the outspoken SDF MP, PC Fonso. Where will he pull the weight remains a matter of conjecture given that so many candidates are even poised to challenge him for the position of Parliamentarian?  It is being argued strongly by political analysts that the way the SDF District elections are being contested and rigged, the syndrome may contaminate all other districts, thus putting in place an executive that is neither representative nor legitimate.

The Electoral District in the SDF has powers as the executives are those to receive the nominations of candidates for elective positions like councilors, mayors and parliamentarians. Thus for a candidate to be qualified, he/she must be presented by a district. The ongoing reorganization is tearing the party apart instead of uniting it due to the flawed elections. It is being alleged that the elections are being tele-guided from Ntarikon by Fru Ndi. Sources close to Ntarikon aver that Fru Ndi is afraid of any possible challenge during the upcoming convention and has ordered his lackeys to put in place an electorate that will be favourable to him. It is also muted that some MPs and Mayors are behind the undemocratic elections going on in the electoral districts because they want to eliminate their rivals by putting in place people who are loyal to them.

Whether all these accusations are true or not is not the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter is how the SDF that preaches power to the people and equal opportunity should be so undemocratic to impose some few people over others. Where is the equal opportunity? Where is the power to the people when a selected handful control SDF and have been there for close to two decades? Can the SDF talk of election rigging by others when it has fine-tuned the art of rigging herself? SDF district elections have shown that the SDF is a master in rigging and undemocratic practices. The SDF party has no moral authority to judge other political parties for not providing a level ground for competition. Internally the SDF is corrupt and undemocratic, reason Fru Ndi himself will cling to power and victimize everybody who eyes his position with article 8.2.