2025 presidentials: Lessons Cameroon should learn from Ghana.

Last week, Ghana set an example in electoral democracy worthy to be emulated by Cameroon. With a population almost as that of Cameroon, 18 million Ghanaians voted in what the media styled a "highly competitive election".

Former President, John Mahama, of the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, made a comeback to replace outgoing president, Nana Akufo-Addo, whose ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP, party candidate is incumbent Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, of the ruling New Patriotic Party.

Ghanaians voted on Saturday and results, by their electoral laws, were expected three days later. But the same day, Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat and congratulated the opposition candidate on his victory.

"The people have voted for change," said Bawumia. The Vice President said he was accepting defeat before the official announcement of the results, "to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country".

The NDC earlier said that its internal results showed Mahama had won 56% of the vote, against 41% for Bawumia.

The Commonwealth Observer Group, COG, constituted by the Commonwealth Secretary General, the Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland KC, commended the government, civil society, the people of Ghana for turning out in an orderly manner to exercise their franchise, and the Electoral Commission, polling staff, political parties, police and the media for their respective roles in ensuring the successful conduct of the elections.

The COG also praised the Vice President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia, for the exemplary Statesmanship displayed in his early concession speech, even before official results were made public.

The US Embassy in the capital, Accra, congratulated Ghana on "a successful election".

What stands out as a model for the Ghanaian election is the inclusive number of registered voters, the expedited three-day time limit and more importantly, the concession of defeat, judged by internal count by contestants before the official results were declared.

Compare that with the last presidential election in Cameroon. Only some 6.5 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots. The official results were expected after 15 long days. It created a toxic space for a raft of unofficial results. 

With the long and anxious wait, opposition candidates called on their supporters to oversee the tallying process to prevent any fraud that might have favoured the incumbent's quest for re-election.

"Times are tough. Rise up and prepare to defend your victory because there are some unbelievable things going on," Cabral Libii, an opposition candidate of the Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation, PCRN, had told international news agency, Association France Presse, AFP.

He was echoed by the leading opposition candidate, Prof Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC, who warned he would "not accept any" result tainted by fraud.

Kamto then declared himself winner, thus creating violence that led to the arrest and incarceration of some of his supporters.

The Guardian Post, based on results of other African elections like in Senegal, Ghana, etc, understands that when elections are declared within three days, violence is eliminated or curbed. 

If Cameroon emulates those examples, there won't be any suspicion that the delay is intended to manipulate the results to the advantage of the party in power.

With the advent of the ICT and digital biometric registration, there is no tangible reason for Cameroon to take 15 days to declare presidential election results, when others with more electorates are doing so in less than three days.

At The Guardian Post, we have the conviction that the elections management body, Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, can deliver results within three days, if given the legal and financial backings.     

Cameroon, with a Gross Domestic Product, GDP, better than countries like Ghana, Senegal, and fewer number of registered voters can declare presidential election results within the three-day requirement as in other nascent democracies.

Why is the CPDM regime reluctant to do that to avoid violence that is often driven by delayed results, suspected of being cooked to favour incumbents?

With globalisation, the world is changing and modernising with the times and Cameroon should not continue to look backwards and hope to develop or emerge with an Electoral Code that is ridden with question marks.

The noble experiences of other countries should provide a reservoir of potential solutions that Cameroon can evaluate against the needs and realities of our own country and be counted among civilised nations that embrace democracy of fair play.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3317 of Wednesday December 11, 2024