2025-2027 electoral cycle: UN, ELECAM, stakeholders drum transparency, peace, inclusiveness.

The common ground was echoed at the start of a workshop in Mbankomo, Mefou and Akono Division of the Centre Region, Wednesday.

The gathering which ends today, officials said, is the first Multi-Stakeholder Consultation Platform meeting of ELECAM. 

Officials said it is being organised within the framework of the UN-ELECAM Technical Assistance Project for the 2025-2027 Electoral Cycle.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Africa, Abdou Abarry, saluted the commitment of stakeholders to ensure the electoral cycle unfolds in a peaceful, inclusive, credible way. 

Abarry said the discussion “…is a civic and moral imperative, one that requires each of us to act with foresight, responsibility, and above all, unity”.

He said despite the diversity of stakeholders, everyone must be focus on ensuring a “Cameroon where every citizen, regardless of background, gender, age, or status, can express their democratic will freely, peacefully, and confidently”.

The UN official noted that “political competition must never come at the expense of national cohesion, that diversity of opinion and political competition must not erode unity, and that disagreement must never turn into division”.

He re-echoed the message of Hon Cavaye Yeguie Djibril during the opening of the June session of Parliament at the National Assembly that even after the polls, Cameroon will still exist.

The UN official expressed hope that the dialogue which went underway yesterday, “will continue to be a culture, a habit, a tradition of open, inclusive, and sustainable engagement across sectors, institutions, and political divides”. 

Elections as window for renewing peace building…

According to the Chairperson of the Electoral Board of ELECAM, Dr Enow Abrams Egbe, “the electoral period is always an opportunity to reaffirm Cameroon’s commitment to peace building, transparency, and inclusivity in the electoral process”. 

ELECAM’s collaboration with the United Nations, Dr Enow Abrams averred, aligns with the National Governance Strategy, which prioritizes transparency, citizen participation, institutional accountability, and peace building as key pillars of democratic consolidation. 

To enhance trust and confidence in the electoral process, he said all stakeholders have to promote greater participation in the electoral process, and establish early warning mechanisms at all levels to help prevent conflicts.

The long-term goal, he said, is to guarantee peaceful, inclusive, transparent, and credible elections in Cameroon in 2025-2026. 

Dr Enow Abrams said ELECAM remains committed to further open consultations to promote inclusion and citizen and civic participation for acceptable and credibility electoral processes.

Under its technical partnership with the UN, officials said ELECAM will benefit over three billion FCFA. The project, it was disclosed, is coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, in partnership with UN Systems, including UN Women, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO; the International Organisation for Migration, IOM; High Commissioner for Human Rights, HCHR, and the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3485 of Thursday June 26, 2025