People will be jailed for electoral fraud, ELECAM warns

ELECAM has warned that people involved in propagating fraud during elections will be sent to jail through speedy court trials.

Christopher Tambe Tiku, ELECAM Board member in charge of Meme Division,made the declaration recently in Kumba while chairing a coordination meeting with political party leaders.

Tambe said gone are the days when people will participate in elections and only start complaining about an error after the results have been pronounced.

The ELECAM Board member said any fraud during an election is a flagrante delicto and will be treated as such. He advised political parties to shun complaining after elections and report any trace of fraud to the competent body at the time it happens.

He said, in case of such happenstance, ELECAM will invoke the laws relating to the issues and the judges in the court will give such matters speedy trials within the same electoral year.

Tambe told election stakeholders that it will not be like other normal court cases that drag on for years. Sounding positive, the ELECAM official said with ELECAM’s strive to maintain credibility in the electoral process, cases of fraud during elections will be handled within the same year.

“If you call elections today, ELECAM will organise the elections. We are committed to do the job. ELECAM cannot afford to be complacent anymore,”stated.

The commitment to punish election riggers through speedy court actions followed a reaction from an SDF representative, John Mukwelle Mukwelle, who claimed that in the last elections, some people were allowed to use voters’ cards that were not theirs.

Tambe and the ELECAM Divisional Branch head, Divine Mokoto, debunked the claims as mere wishful thinking and said all cases of suspected fraud were dealt with accordingly.

Justifying the revision of the electoral list, Tambe told political party representatives that the legislator in Cameroon opted for transparency in the electoral exercises.

He said periodic meetings with stakeholders help to shape the focus of the electoral process, and advised those who have enrolled on registers to collect their cards.

Tambe also encouraged potential voters to enroll at their various ELECAM branches.

New Voters

Reports presented by the Meme ELECAM Divisional head, Mokoto Mewanu, indicate that as at April 8, 2016, the Division had 5,049 new voters, compared to 5,473 registered throughout 2015.

At Subdivisional levels, Konye tops with 1,604 new voters; Mbonge 1,485;Kumba I, 808;Kumba II, 752; and Kumba III, 430.

Appeals made at meeting from both the Divisional heads of ELECAM and political party leaders bordered on the need for more logistics such as biometric kits, motorbikes, rain coats for field staff and financial allowances for maximum output.