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It is once more campaign season in Cameroon. A field of about 23 presidential hopefuls have from today, Saturday the 24th of September until midnight on the 8th of October to get their message across to voters.
Leading candidate Paul Biya who modified the constitution of the country so that he may remain in power will as usual delegate the running of his campaign to his henchmen and thugs. Other campaigns with less human and financial resources will target certain areas of the country to make a showing. Of note is Hon. Ayah Paul Abine, the lone "David" who stood up against this move by Biya's "Goliath" machinery.
It will be one noisy and festive fortnight in Cameroon as cheap Chinese-made T-shirts and cloned motorcycles will be acquired and dumped in the country by the campaigns.
There will be some violence, which will be toned down because of inadequate coverage by the local media. To them who have ears and those who have eyes, beware, and don't get carried by the campaign fever.
For the real winners in this process are the minor candidates who stand to pocket not less than $100.000 each, no questions asked, all from the government treasury.
Western governments have taken a rather dim view of autocrats like Mr Paul Biya who want to stay eternally in power. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called on despots to leave so that the people they rule can be free to engage in an open democratic process. Apparently that message is not getting to some quarters in Yaounde (or Switzerland).
Whoever the winner will be, there is going to be a lot of major issues to be addressed, such as the crumbling infrastructure of the country, what to do with political prisoners like Titus Edzoa, Polycarpe Abah Abah, and others, the rights of same sex couples, and more engagement in regional and continental issues (like recognizing the NTC in Libya).
It is once more campaign season in Cameroon. A field of about 23 presidential hopefuls have from today, Saturday the 24th of September until midnight on the 8th of October to get their message across to voters.
Leading candidate Paul Biya who modified the constitution of the country so that he may remain in power will as usual delegate the running of his campaign to his henchmen and thugs. Other campaigns with less human and financial resources will target certain areas of the country to make a showing. Of note is Hon. Ayah Paul Abine, the lone "David" who stood up against this move by Biya's "Goliath" machinery.
It will be one noisy and festive fortnight in Cameroon as cheap Chinese-made T-shirts and cloned motorcycles will be acquired and dumped in the country by the campaigns.
There will be some violence, which will be toned down because of inadequate coverage by the local media. To them who have ears and those who have eyes, beware, and don't get carried by the campaign fever.
For the real winners in this process are the minor candidates who stand to pocket not less than $100.000 each, no questions asked, all from the government treasury.
Western governments have taken a rather dim view of autocrats like Mr Paul Biya who want to stay eternally in power. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called on despots to leave so that the people they rule can be free to engage in an open democratic process. Apparently that message is not getting to some quarters in Yaounde (or Switzerland).
Whoever the winner will be, there is going to be a lot of major issues to be addressed, such as the crumbling infrastructure of the country, what to do with political prisoners like Titus Edzoa, Polycarpe Abah Abah, and others, the rights of same sex couples, and more engagement in regional and continental issues (like recognizing the NTC in Libya).
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