CAMEROON: INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION ONE

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000492 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C DEPT PLEASE PASS MCC LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS EUCOM FOR J5-A AFRICA DIVISION AND POLAD YATES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV CM SUBJECT: CAMEROON: INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION ONE STEP CLOSER REF: 06 YAOUNDE 1887 ¶1. (U) Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni issued a decision April 16 creating an inter-ministerial ad hoc committee to facilitate the implementation of ELECAM (Elections Cameroon), the independent electoral commission announced in December. The ad hoc committee has 45 days (maximum) to complete its tasks. ¶2. (U) Ever since ELECAM was announced, there have been calls to have it stood up immediately. Opposition parties in particular have urged that ELECAM take over organizing and running elections, complaining that the Interior Ministry has an inherent conflict of interest when it comes to free and fair elections. ¶3. (U) The ad hoc inter-ministerial committee will report to the Secretary General at the Prime Ministry and has three tasks: 1) preparing draft texts regarding the creation, organization and functioning of ELECAM; 2) preparing the outline of an eventual text for ELECAM's internal controls; 3) developing guidelines for nominating ELECAM members, and the satisfactory implementation of its activities within the timeline detailed in the law creating ELECAM. ¶4. (U) The committee will have 9 members. Its president will be a "high level official" from the Prime Ministry and the vice president will represent the Interior Ministry. After that, there will be two members each from the Prime Ministry, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Economy and Finance, and one from Interior, all of whom will be appointed by the ministries they represent. ¶5. (U) Comment. The timing of the ad hoc committee's creation and the 45 day limit to complete its work could mean that the Goverment of Cameroon is considering not renewing the mandate of the National Elections Observatory (french acronym, ONEL) which expires at the end of May, though that would pose problems for ONEL's participation in the legislatve and municipal elections, which are expected to be called for July. ONEL will be redundant once ELECAM is operational and many have suggested that ONEL (with its personnel, material and expertise) should simply provide the basis for ELECAM, a conversion that would expedite ELECAM's implementation. End Comment. NELSON