Cameroonian presidential election, 2004

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Cameroonian presidential election, 2004
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Nominee Paul Biya John Fru Ndi
Party RDPC SDF
Popular vote2,665,359654,066
Percentage70.92%17.40%
President before election

Paul Biya
RDPC

Elected President

Paul Biya
RDPC

Cameroon
Cameroon COA.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Cameroon

Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 11 October 2004. Incumbent President Paul Biya was easily re-elected in an election which the opposition claimed had seen widespread electoral fraud.

Cameroon Republic in West Africa

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Although Cameroon is not an ECOWAS member state, it geographically and historically is in West Africa with the Southern Cameroons which now form her Northwest and Southwest Regions having a strong West African history. The country is sometimes identified as West African and other times as Central African due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West and Central Africa.

Paul Biya Cameroonian politician

Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician serving as the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election fraud, election manipulation or vote rigging, is illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates, or both. What exactly constitutes electoral fraud varies from country to country.

Contents

Background

Biya came to power in 1982 and by 2004 had ruled Cameroon for 22 years. [1] Multi-party democracy was introduced for the 1992 election but Biya was accused of rigging the election to ensure victory. [1] The last presidential election in 1997 saw Biya re-elected with 93% of the vote after opposition parties boycotted the election. [2] The expectation before the 2004 election was that Biya would be re-elected to another term of office, with no chance that anyone else would be able or allowed to defeat him. [3] [4]

A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national election, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coalition. Apart from one-party-dominant and two-party systems, multi-party systems tend to be more common in parliamentary systems than presidential systems and far more common in countries that use proportional representation compared to countries that use first-past-the-post elections.

Candidates

After announcing that the presidential election would be held on 11 October, [5] Biya confirmed on 16 September that he would stand for re-election. [6] Before his announcement there had been calls from groups such as university lecturers and over 100 former footballers for him to stand again. [7]

Association football Team field sport

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of eleven players. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal.

Biya was opposed by 15 other candidates after the opposition failed to agree on a single candidate. [1] A 10-party coalition nominated Adamou Ndam Njoya for the election, but his candidacy was rejected by the veteran opposition politician John Fru Ndi who decided to stand as well. [8] Fru Nidi said that he should have been selected instead of Njoya as Fru Nidi's Social Democratic Front had more elected members. [8] Fru Ndi was an anglophone from western Cameroon who had stood in the 1992 election, while Adamou Ndam Njoya was a Muslim francophone from northern Cameroon. [9]

Adamou Ndam Njoya is a Cameroonian politician, lawyer, author, and professor. He was Minister of National Education from 1977 to 1980, and he has been the President of the Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC), an opposition party, since 1991. He has also been the Mayor of Foumban since 1996, and from 1997 to 2007 he was a Deputy in the National Assembly. He unsuccessfully ran as a presidential candidate in the 1992 and 2004 elections.

John Fru Ndi Cameroonian politician

Ni John Fru Ndi is a Cameroonian politician. He founded the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the main opposition party in Cameroon, in 1990, and he has led the party since then.

Social Democratic Front (Cameroon) political party

The Social Democratic Front is the main opposition party of Cameroon. It is led by Ni John Fru Ndi and receives significant support from the Anglophone regions of the western part of the country.

There were also reports that Biya backed some of the candidates so they could act as spoilers. [8] [9]

The spoiler effect is the effect of vote splitting between candidates or ballot questions who often have similar ideologies. One spoiler candidate's presence in the election draws votes from a major candidate with similar politics thereby causing a strong opponent of both or several to win. The minor candidate causing this effect is referred to as a spoiler. However, short of any electoral fraud, this presents no grounds for a legal challenge.

Campaign

Biya initially did not campaign in the election and only made his first campaign stop within the last week before polling day. [10] [11] Biya described his opponents as inexperienced and said that he was only person who could prevent anarchy in Cameroon. [10] [11] He also pledged to improve education, health and women's rights, as well as decentralising and developing industry and tourism. [10] One of Biya's campaign slogans was "Free mosquito nets for pregnant mothers" but there was significant scepticism over the pledges made by Biya after the failure to achieve ones made in previous elections. [9]

Mosquito net fine net used to exclude mosquitos and other biting insects

A mosquito net is a type of meshed curtain that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area, to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus against the diseases they may carry. Examples of such preventable insect-borne diseases include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, zika virus and various forms of encephalitis, including the West Nile virus.

The opposition candidates said that the government had mismanaged the economy and failed to address widespread poverty. [10] John Fru Ndi attracted the most supporters to his rallies of any of the opposition candidates, with up to 30,000 attending his rally in Douala. [11] He pledged to restore previous wage scales for workers, to reduce corruption and poverty, scrap fees at university and remove taxation from small businesses. [11]

Conduct

Opposition candidates criticised the election as having seen significant amounts of multiple voting and that security forces had harassed opposition agents at polling stations. [1] They described the election as having been rigged and appealed to the Supreme Court to annul the results. [12] However most international observers said that despite some shortcomings the election was mainly satisfactory. [13] These included a group of former United States congressmen who called the election "fair and transparent"; however, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues dissented and said that the election had seen many irregularities. [12]

Results

On 25 October 2004 the Supreme Court confirmed the results and rejected the complaints from the opposition. [14] The final results saw Biya secure 70.9% of the vote against 17.4% for his nearest rival John Fru Ndi. [14]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Paul Biya Cameroon People's Democratic Movement 2,665,35970.92
John Fru Ndi Social Democratic Front 654,06617.40
Adamou Ndam Njoya Cameroon Democratic Union 168,3184.48
Garga Haman Adji Alliance for Democracy and Development 140,3723.74
Justin MouafoNationalism of Cameroonian Patriots14,9150.40
Yondo Mandengue BlackSocial Movement for New Democracy13,6010.36
Anicet EkaneSocial Movement for New Democracy13,2900.35
Fritz Pierre NgoCameroon Ecological Movement13,1220.35
Jean Michel TekamParty of Social Democracy12,7850.34
Victorin Hameni BieuleuUnion of Democratic Forces11,9200.32
Boniface ForbinJustice and Development Party10,5420.28
Djeukam TchameniMovement for Democracy and Interdependence10,5390.28
Jean-Jacques Ekindi Progressive Movement 10,1580.27
Hubert KamgangUnion of African Populations7,5080.20
George Dobgima NyamndiSocial Liberal Congress6,7300.18
Gustave EssakaCameroon Integral Democracy4,9960.13
Invalid/blank votes72,051–
Total3,830,272100
Registered voters/turnout4,657,74882.23
Source: African Elections Database

Related Research Articles

Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement political party; name adopted by the Union Nationale Camerounaise in 1985.

The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement is the ruling political party in Cameroon. Previously known as the Cameroonian National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politics since independence in 1960, it was renamed in 1985. The National President of the CPDM is Paul Biya, the President of Cameroon, while the Secretary-General of the RDPC's Central Committee is Jean Nkuete.

The Cameroon Democratic Union is a political party in Cameroon. It was founded by Adamou Ndam Njoya, a former Minister of National Education under President Ahmadou Ahidjo, on 26 April 1991.

"Pa" Simon Achidi Achu is a Cameroonian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1992 to 1996. Previously he was Minister of Justice from 1972 to 1975. A leading member of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), Achidi Achu was appointed as Chairman of the National Investment Corporation in 2003, and he was elected to the Senate of Cameroon in 2013.

Bello Bouba Maigari is a Cameroonian politician. He was the 2nd Prime Minister of Cameroon from 6 November 1982 to 22 August 1983 and has been the National President of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) since January 1992. Although he was a key opposition leader for much of the 1990s, he has participated in the government since December 1997; he was Minister of State for Industrial and Commercial Development from 1997 to 2004, Minister of State for Post and Telecommunications from 2004 to 2009, and Minister of State for Transport from 2009 to 2009. Since December 2011, he has been Minister of State for Tourism and Leisure.

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The Progressive Movement is a minor opposition political party in Cameroon. It was formed on 23 August 1991 and is led by Jean-Jacques Ekindi.

The National Union for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Cameroon, drawing its main support from the north of the country. It was established as an opposition party in the early 1990s and won the second largest number of seats in the 1992 parliamentary election. The UNDP's National President is Maigari Bello Bouba, who is currently a Minister of State in the government.

Augustin Kontchou Kouomegni is a Cameroonian political figure who served in the government of Cameroon from 1990 to 2001. As Minister of Information and then Minister of Communication, Kontchou was a prominent and controversial figure, reviled by the opposition, during the political turmoil of the early 1990s. Later, he was Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2001 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of Douala from 2005 to 2008.

2008 Cameroonian anti-government protests

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Jean-Jacques Ekindi is a Cameroonian politician. He has been the National President of the Progressive Movement, an opposition political party, since its foundation in 1991, and he was a Deputy in the National Assembly of Cameroon from 2007 to 2013.

Issa Tchiroma Cameroonian politician

Issa Tchiroma Bakary is a Cameroonian politician who served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of Transport from 1992 to 1996 and has been Minister of Communication since 2009. He is the President of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon, a minor political party.

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1992 Cameroonian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 11 October 1992. They were the first presidential election since multi-party politics had been legalised, and were also the first to feature more than one candidate. Incumbent Paul Biya won with 39.98% of the vote. Voter turnout was 71.9%.

2011 Cameroonian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 9 October 2011. Incumbent President Paul Biya stood for another term after a constitutional amendment passed in 2008 eliminated term limits. Biya was re-elected with 78% of the vote.

2018 Cameroonian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 7 October 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Peel, Michael (2004-10-12). "Poll fraud claim by Cameroon opposition". Financial Times. p. 8.
  2. ↑ "Landslide win for Cameroon leader". BBC News Online . 2004-10-15. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  3. ↑ "Frustration threatens Cameroon calm". BBC News Online . 2004-01-07. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  4. ↑ "Cameroon opposition fails to see eye to eye". The Independent . 2004-09-18. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  5. ↑ "Old Cameroon foes battle again as election nears". Reuters . 2004-09-12. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  6. ↑ "Cameroon leader seeks a new term". BBC News Online . 2004-09-16. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  7. ↑ "Cameroon players back president". BBC News Online . 2004-09-06. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  8. 1 2 3 "Cameroon leader's 'divide and rule'". BBC News Online . 2004-09-17. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  9. 1 2 3 "International: Come back in six months; Cameroon". The Economist. 2004-10-16. p. 67.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Peel, Michael (2004-10-07). "Ruler of Cameroon can afford to take relaxed attitude to re- election: President Paul Biya, who has run the oil-rich African country since 1982, looks highly unlikely to lose his job". Financial Times. p. 14.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Cameroon's reluctant campaigner". BBC News Online . 2004-10-09. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  12. 1 2 "'Cameroon election fair and transparent'". The Independent . 2004-10-15. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  13. ↑ "Cameroon's president wins landslide". The Independent . 2004-10-15. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  14. 1 2 "Cameroon leader's win confirmed". BBC News Online . 2004-10-25. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
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