What makes some of the 297 political parties tick

The appeal of Cameroon’s new political parties lies in the fresh ideas and new faces they offer.

Since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1990, Cameroon’s democracy has continued to grow in various aspects. Today, the country has 297 registered political parties; with the latest to be launched being Bernard Njonga’s Believe In Cameroon, BIC. Despite the presence of well-entrenched parties - some of which have been in parliament or have been running local councils for years - the new comers still manage to attract following.

Fresh Ideas, New Faces Perhaps, the greatest appeal of today’s new political parties is what they offer and the faces behind them. Though it has been argued that Cameroon’s political parties are basically the same in their manifestoes, the slant some of the new comers give to certain aspects of national life like agriculture, ecology, women’s empowerment, decentralisation, etc, tends to make them stand out. And thus the following they enjoy. People therefore want to give them a trial to see if they will be different from the old parties.

Curiosity, Expanded Choice Like with most new things, Cameroonians are also experimenting with new political parties, perhaps out of curiosity. They want to give them a trial, having been used to the older guard like the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM, Social Democratic Front, SDF, Cameroon Democratic Union, UDC, National Union for Democracy and Progress, NUDP, and the Cameroon People’s Union, UPC. The coming on board of more parties thus widens the opportunity of choice for intending voters and members of the public who want to join their membership.

Natural Following Unfortunately, a good number of Cameroon’s political parties are tribe, ethnic group or region-based, depending on the origin of the founder/leader. With such a practice that is fast becoming a ‘tradition,’ it is not surprising that many new parties have some level of following in the leaders’ home regions. Just how long such following is sustained, is another story all together. For, the real worth of a party is only truly measured in its showing at elections, especially local polls that tend to interest grassroots people more.

New comers, Untainted Reputation The political terrain in Cameroon is not for the chicken-hearted. The murky waters of partisan politics means that many ‘promising’ politicians soon get their hands burnt. As a result, it is common to find politicians whose profiles include a litany of parties they have belonged to and left because of some disagreement with the leadership. But the fact that leaders of some of these parties are entirely new to the political scene - with relatively untainted reputation - makes their manifestoes tick.

Financial Attraction Given the harsh economic situation in the country, people tend to belong where they hope their personal interests will best be satisfied. If they think the leader of a new party has national or foreign connections that could facilitate travel abroad, training, funding or employment opportunities for them or close relatives, they will not hesitate to join them. Thus, the greater the financial or political connections of a new party leader, the more their following is likely going to be.