Paul Biya faces heat from the International Community.
Results for the October 9th presidential elections in Cameroon were proclaimed on the 21st of October 2011. The nation's Supreme Court sitting in lieu of the Constitutional Council which exits only on paper and has never seen the light of day declared incumbent, Paul Biya who has been in power since 1975 as the winner of the elections.
But here is the problem. The country has a population of 19,100,000. Of these, there were 7,251,651 registered voters. Turnout was at 68,3% which is rather low. But as expected, Mr Biya won with a total of 3,772,527 votes. In contrast, Ahmadou Ahidjo, first president of Cameroon won the 28th March 1970 presidential elections with 3,478,942 votes. From 1970 to 2011, forty-one years to be sure, the president elect is able to better Ahmadou AHidjo by only about 300,000 votes, which says much about the credibility Mr biya has in occupying the office of President of the Republic of Cameroon.
Now, the elections were not the best and there were many irregularities reported. One candidate was unfortunate enough to attempt to hold a campaign rally in Mr Biya's village and he almost lost his life. Comments from major international partners like the United States Government, the United Nations, the British High Commission, the European Union and others have been very cautious and diplomatically laden with impatience as regards Biya's reluctance to leave power for a well deserved retirement.
Clearly Mr Biya has over-stayed in the presidency, and with the elections still fresh out of the oven, it leaves myriad opportunities for the aging Mr Biya to be pushed out. NATO forces and the International Community have just had vast resources freed up after the liberation of Libya and the death of Col. Muamar Ghadafi. They may now have the time to look into some nut cases like Mr Mugabe, of even closer, going from Libya south toward Zimbabwe, Mr Biya, who suppress the development of their people and deny them access to basic amenities like schools, clinics, and clean drinking water.
Results for the October 9th presidential elections in Cameroon were proclaimed on the 21st of October 2011. The nation's Supreme Court sitting in lieu of the Constitutional Council which exits only on paper and has never seen the light of day declared incumbent, Paul Biya who has been in power since 1975 as the winner of the elections.
But here is the problem. The country has a population of 19,100,000. Of these, there were 7,251,651 registered voters. Turnout was at 68,3% which is rather low. But as expected, Mr Biya won with a total of 3,772,527 votes. In contrast, Ahmadou Ahidjo, first president of Cameroon won the 28th March 1970 presidential elections with 3,478,942 votes. From 1970 to 2011, forty-one years to be sure, the president elect is able to better Ahmadou AHidjo by only about 300,000 votes, which says much about the credibility Mr biya has in occupying the office of President of the Republic of Cameroon.
Now, the elections were not the best and there were many irregularities reported. One candidate was unfortunate enough to attempt to hold a campaign rally in Mr Biya's village and he almost lost his life. Comments from major international partners like the United States Government, the United Nations, the British High Commission, the European Union and others have been very cautious and diplomatically laden with impatience as regards Biya's reluctance to leave power for a well deserved retirement.
Clearly Mr Biya has over-stayed in the presidency, and with the elections still fresh out of the oven, it leaves myriad opportunities for the aging Mr Biya to be pushed out. NATO forces and the International Community have just had vast resources freed up after the liberation of Libya and the death of Col. Muamar Ghadafi. They may now have the time to look into some nut cases like Mr Mugabe, of even closer, going from Libya south toward Zimbabwe, Mr Biya, who suppress the development of their people and deny them access to basic amenities like schools, clinics, and clean drinking water.
Irresponsible statements like those from Gregoire Owona who has been a Biya henchman forever shows the the shocking cockiness that Cameroonians have come to expect from their leaders. Cameroon deserves better.
For now, Mr. Biya and his cronies think they will be in power for ever, and that they are above all moral and legal jurisdictions. In response to a benign standard non committal statement from the very respected and experienced US ambassador to Cameroon, H.E. the Rt. Hon. Robert P. Jackson concerning the flawed presidential elections with record low turnout, Mr Gregoire Owona came out firing, saying "Cameroon is not the valet of the USA"!
Such a ridiculous, uncouth and very brusque statement by one of the highest and most trusted Biya advisers, directed to the head of the biggest diplomatic representation in Central Africa is outright irresponsible. When Biya surrounds himself with such advisers, and leaves them to roam wild and free from the domestic unto the international scene, making unmetered statements against foreign dignitaries, one can only say that Mr Biya has it coming.
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