ELECAM Prepares For Rulings on Petitions

The Head of the Legal Affairs and Litigation Unit of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM says they are working in serenity in preparation to defend the institution in the upcoming

hearings on the petitions of political parties whose lists were rejected by the ELECAM Electoral Board as well as those filed by other actors in the electoral process.

Mr Ewang Sone Andrew told Cameroon Tribune that they have already forwarded to the Supreme Court sitting in for the Constitutional Council all written submissions relating to petitions on the rejection of lists for the September 30, 2013 legislative election. The written submissions concerning petitions filed by political parties on the rejection of candidacy lists for the municipal election of the same day are being prepared, he said. He specified that the Constitutional Council has to rule on the legislative election petitions latest Tuesday, August 13, 2013, which makes 10 days following the submission of the petitions. The Administrative Bench of the Supreme Court, on its part, has to rule on petitions relating to municipal election latest, Sunday, August 11, 2013 in respect of the provisions of the Electoral Code which specifies that the court must rule on the petitions not more than five days from the day the petition was submitted.

The Constitutional Council and the Administrative Bench of the Supreme Court after receiving the petitions channel them to the General Directorate of Elections in ELECAM to enable collaborators of the Director General of Elections prepare written defences to submit to the courts within 24 hours of reception. The written submissions on the petitions submitted to the Constitutional Council and the Administrative Bench of the Supreme Court, Mr Ewang Sone said, are to enable members of the two courts to peruse them in view of preparing for the hearings on the ruling on petitions.

The lawyers of ELECAM are busy preparing for oral submissions on the petitions during hearings. Their mission is to defend the institution, the Head of the Legal Affairs and Litigation Unit said. They must master sections of the Electoral Code governing candidacies in the legislative and municipal elections in order to adequately defend the decision of the Electoral Board of ELECAM to either reject or accept candidacy lists.