2018 Elections:

ELECAM Promise Court Action for Election Riggers

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Elecam envoy to SW, Tambe Tiku Christopher

ELECAM officials in the southwest region have revealed that they will work in close collaboration with the judiciary during the 2018 elections to make sure that any persons found guilty of election fraud are tried and punished accordingly.

                ELECAM Board members Tambe Tiku Christopher and Governor Ejake Thomas Mbonda accompanied by the SW Delegate of ELECAM, Mukete Eveline, made the disclosure on 22 January 2018, during a meeting in Kumba to evaluate voter registration.           The meeting brought together mixed commission members, ELECAM stakeholders in the division and representatives of political parties alongside other officials.

                Tambe Tiku told stakeholders that they must work towards correcting the shortcomings observed in the last elections they conducted.

                “We are going to exploit the weaknesses we noticed in 2013 and see how we can improve on those weaknesses. What is clear this time is that, we are going to make use of the penal provisions of the electoral code,” Tambe Tiku stated.

                He added that any person who will be found wanting as far as elections in the region is concerned should consider his or herself a prisoner.

                ”We mean what we are saying and we are going to impose and enforce that,” Tambe warned, reminding his hearers that it has happened before in the Northwest Region where some people were jailed for electoral fraud.

                “This time, it is important for people to know that we are going to work closely with the judiciary to enforce all the penal provisions,” the human rights advocate warned further.

                He noted that ELECAM has no interest in whoever wins an election but is more concerned with cleansing the image of the institution in the aspect of carrying out a fair and transparent election void of corruption and rigging.

                “ELECAM can only be trusted if credible elections are held in this part of the country. We already have problems as far as elections are concern, but on our part, if we take the risk and responsibility to organise elections, then, we must ensure that these elections are credible,” he said.

                Tambe Tiku indicated that the consultative and evaluation meeting was therefore a wake-up call for the all parties involved.

                “It is important for the population to understand that election is a sovereign act and therefore entails it to be credible through its fairness and freeness that can only be considered through the security aspect”.

                He reassured all and sundry that adequate security has been promised the region by the Governor through the SDOs and DOs but stated that such assistance from the administrators will be put under control in order to avoid people raising complaints of the process being hijacked by the administrators.

                Quizzed on the issue of displaced persons and how they will take part in the elections, Tambe Tiku said special polling stations will be made available for those who are eligible to vote while respecting the norms which show evidence that they were registered.

                On his part the Meme Divisional Head of ELECAM, Divine Mokoto Mewanu, revealed that a total of 18 681 cards have been received with just 518 collected by potential voters. He said new strategies have been contemplated to ensure better distribution of the other remaining cards.