Yaounde: Organisation lauds progress of makeshift Alert & Watch Room in monitoring elections.

The press briefing was attended by stakeholders in the civil society sector, agents of the different compartments of the Alert Room, as well as staff of the organisation.

As per the official, the initiative, launched under the Reducing Violence through Monitoring and Alert Systems, REVIMAS, project, aims to prevent electoral-related conflicts by providing real-time alerts and responses to potential threats to peace.  

The centre, located at a popular hotel in the Damas neighbourhood, was equipped with an operations room, analysis and communications units, a rapid response desk, and a secretariat with at most five personnel for each compartment. 

It coordinated nearly a hundred electoral volunteers stationed across eight regions and managed an open hotline and WhatsApp channels for real-time incident reporting.

Speaking during the briefing, Ndongmo detailed the extensive monitoring efforts and findings gathered from across the country. 

The Watch and Alert Room, which went operational from October 10, she said, served as a rapid-response hub for detecting, analysing, and addressing election-related incidents, particularly those threatening the participation of women and youth.

As per the official on election day alone, the center processed 252 field reports between 7:30a.m. and 11:30p.m., issuing four alert bulletins within the same period.

“Over the entire electoral process, the platform documented 322 incidents and released eleven situation or alert reports. Most of the recorded events were of low to medium intensity and were swiftly resolved, with no cases of bodily harm or deaths reported. Nonetheless, 20 unresolved cases fell under WILPF’s mandate for continued follow-up and verification,” she said.

Despite the largely peaceful polling, the WILPF boss expressed alarm over post-electoral tensions and outbreaks of violence in several localities including Dschang, Bafang, Bafoussam, Kousseri, Douala, and Garoua, where incidents of property destruction, arson, arrests, and calls for ethnic-based exclusion were recorded. 

Ndongmo also cautioned against the rise of inflammatory narratives and misinformation on social media that risked amplifying divisions and fueling unrest.

The organisation urged security forces to uphold professionalism and neutrality, emphasizing that their interventions should remain proportionate and non-partisan. 

It further called on political parties and their supporters to refrain from hate speech, disinformation, and intimidation, and encouraged civil society organisations to intensify peace education and reconciliation efforts.

Particularly, the president appealed to women to use their social influence to promote peace and to youth to act as ambassadors of peace and justice in their communities. 

Ndongmo praised the Watch and Alert initiative as a practical demonstration of how local innovation and community participation can strengthen democratic processes. 

“Our makeshift room became a nerve center for civic vigilance and women’s leadership in peacebuilding,” she remarked, acknowledging the support of the United Nations in Cameroon and other partners in sustaining the project.

She revealing that the Alert Room will continue till February 2026.

“We have taken every necessary measure to ensure that the Alert Room remains operational till February 2026, that way it covers the municipal elections,” she said.

“However, we shall reduce the working staff to 1 per compartment,” the president concluded.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3602 of Wednesday October 22, 2025