The Social Democratic Front, SDF, has held the government responsible for not respecting the least of its 13 measure adopted to fight the spread of COVID-19 in Cameroon, during the last legislative election rerun in the Northwest and Southwest regions.
SDF’s first Vive President, Joshua Osih, made the statement during a press conference he chaired at the party’s secretariat, on April 3, in Yaounde.
To him, the social distance clause of the measures to curb the propagation of the coronavirus was not respected during the election rerun.
“The SDF condemns the criminal act of the government which did not respect the least of the 13 measures taken within the framework of the fight against COVID-19 in the 11 constituencies concerned by the legislative reruns of March 22. The responsibility of the spread of the COVID-19 virus within these eleven constituencies will rest entirely on the government,” he said.
“Still in connection with the said ballot, the SDF observed with fright that by stubbornly organising these reruns of March 22 at any and every cost, the government threw our compatriots into the coronavirus slaughterhouse. Anglophone lives matter,” he emphasised.
Gong by his words, the polling centres lacked basic preventive gadgets such as hydroalcoholic solutions, simple water and soap, meant to be at the entrance of each polling station to combat the dreaded coronavirus. He averred that, the social distancing principle was not respected even by those who had the courage the vote, thereby, exposing them to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He furthered that, instructions communicated by Cameroon’s PM and the Minister of Territorial Administration, prohibiting assemblies of more than 50 persons completely and rightfully demobilized voters in the concerned constituencies.
To this effect, there was violation of the principle by the very administration that was meant to enforce these instructions in the organisation of the elections.
In view with the ever ravaging coronavirus, the first Vice President of the principal opposition political party in Cameroon calls on all Cameroonians to join hands in the fight of this deadly virus.
“The present situation calls for all Cameroonians to stand together, to put our partisan political inclinations aside, and fight this pandemic as a mother of all battles we have ever faced.”
To this, he added that, all stakeholders ought to tackle the pandemic in absolute solidarity and patriotism, given that, “these are not times for partisan politics.”
Also, he called on all militants, sympathisers of the SDF and Cameroonians in general to take cognizance of the imminent and real dangers of the said pandemic.
In the meantime, following the recently held parliamentary elections rerun, Joshua Osih said, the March 22 elections was a sham and that, the security condition of the nation with respect to the elections was worse than the February 9 polls. Also, the reruns witnessed serious irregularities and two casualties as a result of warfare.
Joshua Osih holds that, one of Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam’s convoy vehicles suffered a blast due to an explosive positioned at one of the 21 barricades erected by the armed groups between Bamenda and Batibo, led some four soldiers and two civilians seriously injured.
Also, Chief Hon. Nji Tumadang, SDF candidate in Santa, sought refuge under his bed to avoid crossfire while voting were unfolding.
To this end, the first Vice President of the SDF, averred that, no election took place in the Anglophone regions, given that, the people of the Northwest and Southwest regions were denied their human, democratic and constitutional right to vote.
Therefore, by rejecting SDF’s petitions, the party officials believe that, the Constitutional Council has handed all 13 parliamentary seats in the 11 constituencies of the Northwest and Southwest regions to the ruling CPDM.
“March 2, 2020, the Constitutional Council, in a desperate move in which they themselves violated their own jurisprudence on the exact same matter and for the same election, declared all the constituencies won by the ruling party, thereby affirming the little esteem this government has for the lives and the democratic rights of the people of the Northwest and Southwest regions.”
It is noteworthy that, results of the March 22, legislative rerun polls would be officially released by Tuesday, April 7, 2020.
By A B O
