BIYA TAPS PARTY FAITHFUL TO RUN NEW ELECTION AGENCY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 001257

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C AND DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EAID PREL PHUM PINR CM
SUBJECT: BIYA TAPS PARTY FAITHFUL TO RUN NEW ELECTION AGENCY

REF: YAOUNDE 1235


1. (SBU) Summary. President Paul Biya appointed the
membership of the newly created elections agency ELECAM in a
Presidential Decree issued on December 30, one day after the
legislative deadline. The process of devolving management of
the elections from the central government to an independent
body began more than five years ago, as part of the political
reforms linked to the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC)
debt-relief process. The membership of the commission is
heavily dominated by ruling party hacks and is viewed on the
street as disappointing, if not entirely unexpected. End
summary.


2. (SBU) Samuel Azong Fonkam, an apparatchik of the ruling
Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) party, will be
the President of the twelve-member body, which also includes
former ministers and prominent officials from the CPDM and
one representative from the Protestant Church (see para 5 for
names and initial bio notes). There are no prominent members
of civil society, no representatives of opposition political
parties and no CPDM members known for their independent or
reformist thought.


3. (SBU) Preliminary discussions with civil society
contacts suggest ELECAM's leadership is not viewed as either
inclusive or independent of CPDM control. One independent
newspaper headlined the story saying "Lock-Out: CPDM
Entrusted with Running Elections." One prominent political
activist noted cynically to Poloffs that "we are not
disappointed (by the nominations) because we never expected
Biya would do anything differently." Two prominent political
activists contacted by Poloffs were more interested in
discussing the coup in Guinea and its relevance to Cameroon
than ELECAM, which they viewed as more of the same regime
preservation.


4. (SBU) Comment: We are struck that Biya apparently felt
unconstrained to provide even a fig leaf of inclusiveness or
independence to ELECAM's leadership. Biya told the
Ambassador in August 2008 that he had rejected the initial
membership slate for ELECAM proposed to him "because most of
them are older than me" and he did not want a gerontocracy in
ELECAM. The subsequent five months of work do not appear to
have produced any more than a reduction in median age. It
certainly was not for lack of time or options; ELECAM has
been in the works for years, the deadline for nominations was
extended from 18 months to two years, and Cameroon boasts
dozens of prominent, apolitical individuals who possess the
experience and credibility that would lend legitimacy to
ELECAM. We withhold judgment, pending further conversations
with a broad spectrum of contacts, but we note with concern
that the Cameroonian street apparently sees its future more
in Guinea than in Ghana. End comment.


5. (U) Members and their bio notes:

--Samuel Azong FONKAM, President of ELECAM: a former Deputy
Secretary General of the National Assembly (a position
controlled by the Presidency); a civil administrator trained
at the National School of Administration and Magistracy
(ENAM); native of the Northwest Region.

--Justin Ewodo EBANGA, Vice-President of ELECAM; native of
the Center Region; a graduate of the University of Yaounde; a
lawyer and former president of the Cameroon Bar Association;
served as Center Region Secretary in ELECAM's predecessor,
the National Observatory of Elections (ONEL).

--Dr. Cecile Bomba NKOLO; a member of the Political Bureau
of the CPDM; a native of the Center Region; a physician and
former Minister of Social Affairs (2002-2004).

--Dr. Dorothy Limunga NJEUMA; a member of the CPDM Central
Committee; a native of the Southwest Region; previously
served as rector of Yaounde I University and Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Buea; was Vice-Minister of National
Education (1975-1985); rumored to have been considered as a
possible new Prime Minister in an expected Cabinet reshuffle,
but her position on ELECAM will make that impossible.

--Mrs. Sadou DAOUDOU (aka Lady Bawa): native of the Adamaoua
Region and member of the CPDM; the widow of the late Sadou
Daoudou, who was a former Minister of Defense and member of
the CPDM Central Committee; a career diplomat trained at the
International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC).

--Abdoulaye BABALE; a founding member of the CPDM and member
of the CPDM central committee; native of the Far North

YAOUNDE 00001257 002 OF 002


Region; holds a postgraduate degree in Public Law and a
postgraduate degree in Political Science; served as Minister
of Housing and Town Planning and Minister of Higher Education.

--Thomas Ejake MBONDA: member of the CPDM; longtime
administrator and former Governor of the Center and Southwest
Regions; served on the a committee that set up the National
Commission for Final Counting of Votes for the 2007 Municipal
Elections; native of the Littoral Region.

--Rev. Dieudonne Massi GAMS: Member of the National
Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC); a pastor and Secretary
General of the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon; served as
East Regional Secretary for ONEL; native of the East Region.

--Ali ADAMOU: native of the North Region.

--Pierre Roger Efandene BEKONO: former official in Ministry
of Agriculture; native of the South Region.

--Jules Mana NSCHWANGELE: Member of the Board of Directors of
the National Oil Company (SNH).

--Elie MBONDA: a member of the CPDM elected to the National
Assembly in 1997; a member of the Pan-African Parliament and
professor at University of Yaounde with a background in
health; a native of the West Region.
GARVEY