Elections!

I have a great respect for the electoral process.  In college, I tried to push all my roomates to go and vote.  I don't really write too much about my feelings on candidates or policies.  I am just not a talented enough writer to express myself fully on a blog and things could be misinterpreted very easily. 

I have lived on four continents now.  I have lived through Presidential elections on all four.  Yesterday was election day here in Cameroon.

With all the political unrest in Africa regarding Elections everyone has been on high alert.  The mood here is calm panic.  In the days leading up to the elections people were stocking up on the basics; rice, drinking water, toilet paper and can foods.  We went to the market and got the following; 5 chocolate bars, raisins, yogurt, chick peas (for hummus), tomato paste, pasta, rice, feta cheese, brie and lots of baguettes to freeze.  We were prepared.  So many people were predicting big riots or demonstrations in this capitol city, Yaounde.  Walter and I really stocked up.

The week before elections a bridge in another city was caputured and the people in the cars were forced to evacuate and turn thier car keys over to the bad men (don't really know what to call them).  They had machine guns and fired syronchinzed shots in the air claiming that this year things would change finally for Cameroon. 

Cameroon has has the same president, Paul Biya, for 30 years.  He is seeking re-election for another seven.  This is typical of many African countries.  The "president" is basically in power until he dies.  But countries like, Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya have fought hard recently to change this. 

Picture of Paul Biya and his wife

Picture of Paul Biya's campaign posters

The preisdent has put up these posters EVERYWHERE!  Cameroonian people feel very little hope that this situation will change anytime soon. Elections came on the 9th of October and went off without a hitch.  (I was relieved!) 

The problem is that the elections are generally believed to be corrupted.  Cameroonians claim that people buy votes (the voting cards) and place 20 or 30 ballots.  Cameroonians also claim that fake indelible ink used for marking voters' fingers was distributed to polling stations.  Someone showed how they were able to remove ink from thier thumb using saliva, minutes after voting in Yaounde, the capital. Easily removable ink opens up the possibility of people voting multiple times in the West African nation. (that was from cnn.com)

So, with faulty ink that could allow for a quick change after the voter has turned in thier vote and the fact that many people had 20 or 30 votes.  The elections hardly seem like they could be fair.  In 2004, the people believed that another candidate actually won, so there was rioting when they announced who the election winner was.  Shortly after the rioting, there was a coup d'etat attempt which was promptly shut down by the "re-elected" president. 

They announce the winner of the presidential election on the 23rd of October.  This country is over-due for a change and the people are desperate for it.  If the president claims to have won the election again, I fear there might be uprisings, like Egypt, Libya or Tunisia.  Only time will tell......