a écrit le 6 septembre 2011 à 1h54 Elections
¶11. (C) Ambassador stressed the need for free, fair, transparent and well-administered elections and asked how he could help us overcome the perception that ELECAM lacks credibility. How to make Electoral Commission (ELECAM) work well, "keeps me awake at night," Biya responded, stressing that he wants it to function with true independence. He claimed he didn´t personally know the members of the ELECAM Council (who have been widely criticized for being partisan senior ruling party officials). His main problem with ELECAM was in creating a "mechanism" for it to function well and independently within a system which is so dominated by the central government. It was important to have a
large voter turnout in order to ensure stability in the country, he said. He was frustrated with opposition parties and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization for being
"enemies of ELECAM."
¶12. (C) Biya noted that later in the day he would review the new electoral code, which he hoped would harmonize all electoral laws and could be ready to submit to parliament during the upcoming March session of the National Assembly. He hoped to hold Senate elections in the second quarter of 2010, which would be "a test" for ELECAM before presidential elections "next year." He hoped to put some military generals in the Senate (possibly also the Navy Chief, who Biya said "we have to do something about, " presumably because of the Admiral´s reputation for corruption and incompetence). Biya also said he plans to create a Constitutional Council soon. (Note: Biya has never created the Senate or the Constitutional Council called for in the 1996 constitution. In his New Year´s address, Biya said he would create the Senate in 2010. End note.)
¶13. (SBU) The President admired Ghanaian President Mills and South African President Zuma, who have both reportedly accepted an invitation to a conference on 50 years of African independence to
be held in Cameroon later this year. The conference would discuss the progress and challenges of African rule, although "there hasn´t been much progress," Biya quipped, adding that Africa needed
stronger institutions. When Ambassador inserted that these institutions should be democratic, Biya just smiled.
Comment
¶14. (C) Biya was the most relaxed and talkative of all his meetings with Ambassador. He was gracious, generally well informed, mentally sharp, and seemingly in good health, although he tired toward the end of the two hours. He seemed eager t
¶11. (C) Ambassador stressed the need for free, fair, transparent and well-administered elections and asked how he could help us overcome the perception that ELECAM lacks credibility. How to make Electoral Commission (ELECAM) work well, "keeps me awake at night," Biya responded, stressing that he wants it to function with true independence. He claimed he didn´t personally know the members of the ELECAM Council (who have been widely criticized for being partisan senior ruling party officials). His main problem with ELECAM was in creating a "mechanism" for it to function well and independently within a system which is so dominated by the central government. It was important to have a
large voter turnout in order to ensure stability in the country, he said. He was frustrated with opposition parties and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization for being
"enemies of ELECAM."
¶12. (C) Biya noted that later in the day he would review the new electoral code, which he hoped would harmonize all electoral laws and could be ready to submit to parliament during the upcoming March session of the National Assembly. He hoped to hold Senate elections in the second quarter of 2010, which would be "a test" for ELECAM before presidential elections "next year." He hoped to put some military generals in the Senate (possibly also the Navy Chief, who Biya said "we have to do something about, " presumably because of the Admiral´s reputation for corruption and incompetence). Biya also said he plans to create a Constitutional Council soon. (Note: Biya has never created the Senate or the Constitutional Council called for in the 1996 constitution. In his New Year´s address, Biya said he would create the Senate in 2010. End note.)
¶13. (SBU) The President admired Ghanaian President Mills and South African President Zuma, who have both reportedly accepted an invitation to a conference on 50 years of African independence to
be held in Cameroon later this year. The conference would discuss the progress and challenges of African rule, although "there hasn´t been much progress," Biya quipped, adding that Africa needed
stronger institutions. When Ambassador inserted that these institutions should be democratic, Biya just smiled.
Comment
¶14. (C) Biya was the most relaxed and talkative of all his meetings with Ambassador. He was gracious, generally well informed, mentally sharp, and seemingly in good health, although he tired toward the end of the two hours. He seemed eager t
