Cameroon: Incumbent party wins legislative elections February 28 /update 2

Event

The results of the legislative elections held on Sunday, February 9, indicate that the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) party won 139 out of the 180 National Assembly seats.

Of those 180 seats, 13 are yet to be attributed as a result of the cancellation of elections in parts of the Anglophone regions due to allegations of ballot and election irregularities, corruption, and other acts of intimidation.

As per the preliminary results, the opposition wins five seats, compared to 18 in the outgoing Assembly.

The Constitutional Council announced a 45.98 percent participation rate across the country.

A heightened security presence and political rallies or demonstrations are possible throughout the country in the coming days and weeks.

Context

6,800,000 voters were registered for the legislative and municipal elections, including 970,000 in the English-speaking regions. Although Cameroonian authorities expressed satisfaction with the conduct and turnout of the elections despite opposition boycott and separatist threats of violence in Anglophone regions, the turnout was reported to be low in both areas.

120 candidates were kidnapped by separatist forces in the Northwest and Southwest regions in the lead up to the elections. Five separatist militants were reportedly killed on February 9 as they reportedly attempted to attack polling stations.

Tensions between the country's minority English-speaking community and the national authorities are high in the Northwest and Southwest regions amid an ongoing separatist movement. Tensions have escalated considerably since October 2017, when secessionists unilaterally proclaimed independence in the region. The United Nations reported that at least 50,000 Cameroonians have fled the fighting to Nigeria since the beginning of the conflict in 2016.

Advice

Individuals in Cameroon are advised to monitor developments to the situation, avoid all protests or large gatherings due to the risk of associated violence, and adhere to instructions issued by local authorities.