October 12 poll: ELECAM assures observers all set for hitch-free election.

Dr Essousse gave the assurance in Yaounde Wednesday during a briefing with the observers. The meeting was also attended by representatives of administrations as well as defence and security authorities. 

Dr Essousse said the meeting was to provide national and international observers useful information to ensure an effective monitoring of the election. 

Election stakeholders used the gathering to share vital information about the electoral process, number of registered voters, polling stations and especially how to observe the elections at the polling stations.

Dr Essousse told participants that per law, the Ministry of Territorial Administration, MINAT, is in charge with accrediting election observers, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Relations for international observers. 

Noting that observing election is a common practice in all democratic society, Dr Essousse expressed the willingness of ELECAM to work with all dully accredited observers. 

Cameroon being a respecter of democratic principles, Dr Essousse assured that ELECAM has and continues to collaborate with sectorial administration, including the Ministries of Communication and that of Territorial Administration and defence and security forces. He urged observers, as they go down to the field,to work with all independence and neutrality. 

Dr Essousse used the occasion to present the cartographic map of Cameroon to observers, detailing that the unique electoral constituency is made of 10 Regions, 58 Divisions and 360 Subdivisions, as well as the Cameroonian diaspora.

“The electoral register currently lists 8,010,464 registered voters, including 34,411 voters from the diaspora, spread across 31,653 polling stations, 108 of which are in the diaspora,” he mentioned. 

He also explained that polling stations have been lodged in public buildings and run by a local voting commission chaired by an independent figure appointed by ELECAM’s divisional delegations.  

The local commissions, he insisted, is an inclusive commission comprising a representative of the administration and of each candidate in the race. 

“At the end of the vote and the counting of votes, a report is drawn up summarising the results obtained by each candidate in that polling station. At the end of the vote count and the announcement of the results, each member of the commission receives a copy of the report, and another copy is sent to each divisional commission, which in turn draws up another report that is forwarded to the National Commission for the General Counting of Votes,” he told the observers.

After the collating of result by this commission, Dr Essousse said the results are then sent to the Constitutional Council, which is the only structure authorised to announce the final results no later than 15 days after the vote. 

Each representative of sectorial administration equally took turns to give assurance on the different dispositions put in place at their respective levels to ensure a smooth process void of violence, disruption, electoral fraud and intimidation.

To help facilitate their work, the observers were each handed an electoral guide containing information on the rights and obligations of electoral observers, mastery of the conduct of presidential elections in Cameroon and the contacts of competent authorities when need arises. 

 Observers appraise meeting

Biko Jean-Luc, an election observer with the NGO Espoir pour la Nouvelle Génération, lauded the holding of the meeting with the authorities in charge to give directives on the conduct of their mission. 

“We, as NGOs, must be transparent and must do what we have to do. Not in the sense of pleasing anyone, but in the sense of seeing if the average Cameroonian had the right,” he stated. 

On his part, Pastor Betek Elias, observing the elections on behalf of ALCPUC5 association, described the meeting as a fruitful one. 

“I just want to thank the ELECAM because they give us some materials to use like jotters, pens and pencils and then they give us some information on how we will do so. It will help us to carry on the election as observers,” he added. 

He expressed his determination to observe the election faithfully and include any aspect of fraud in his report. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3589 of Thursday October 09, 2025