Cdes annual report 2013

CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND ELECTORAL STUDIES

(CDES CAMEROON)

Promoting Excellence in the Management of Democracy and

Electoral Processes.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Former The Crown Plaza Building

Commercial Avenue, Street 6

Box 355 Tiko

South West Region, Cameroon

Tel: +237 3335 1079 / 3302 7335

Fax: +237 3335 1079

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.cdescameroon.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.cdescameroon.org/

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CDES CAMEROON ANNUAL REPORT 2013

CONTENT

TITLE PAGE

Cover Page …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Table of Content ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Message from the Founder / Executive Director ……………………………………………………………………………….

CDES Cameroon’s Vision ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

CDES Cameroon’s Mission …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

CDES Cameroon’s Background ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Purpose …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Main Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Core Principles ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Coverage / Population being Served ………………………………………………………………………………………

CDES Cameroon’s Programs …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Democracy Program ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

o Election Integrity Project ………………………………………………………………………………………….

o Good Governance Initiative ……………………………………………………………………………………..

o Civic Participation Program ……………………………………………………………………………………….

Human Rights Programs …………………………………………………………………………………………………………

o Right to Gender Equality and Youth Civic Protection Initiative …………………………………

o Protection of Disability and Minority Rights ……………………………………………………………..

Highlights of Accomplishments 2012 – 2013...........................................................................................

- Women in Cameroon’s Leadership in 2013 ……………………………………………………………………………

- Engaged Youths in Safeguarding Electoral Integrity ………………………………………………………………

- Enhanced Electoral Credibility through Media ……………………………………………………………………….

- Active Political Party Agents for Transparent Elections ………………………………………………………….

- Credible Assessment of the Conduct of the 2013 Elections ……………………………………………………

- Installed Library Promoted Knowledge and Research …………………………………………………………….

- Our Membership with International Networks ………………………………………………………………………

People Talking our Story ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

- Female Elected Mayor of Buea City …………………………………………………………………………………………

- Intern gained Significant Knowledge ……………………………………………………………………………………….

Our Gratitude ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

A Call for Action …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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Message from the Founder and Executive Director

We have come a long way to establish this unique organization in

Cameroon and I want to use this opportunity to give you a brief about

CDES Cameroon, our programs and accomplishments since the

creation of this organization. In 1991, Cameroon suffered one of the

world’s bloodiest Presidential elections and since then, electoral

processes have consistently been undermined by its main stakeholders. The Presidential

elections of 2011 though managed by the newly created Independent Election Management

Body and prevented from violence was not an exception. The legal framework and the capacity

of the body organizing the elections were called to question and failures attested thereafter.

Within these backdrops, the Center for Democracy and Electoral Studies, CDES Cameroon was

formed with main objective to build capacities, train, advocate for changes, promote

inclusiveness, conduct research and give opportunities for students to explore tools that

enhance the credibility of our democracy. Without these elements, social justice, a responsive

political framework and sustainable development cannot be achieved.

While acknowledging that these processes continue to be slow in our environment where the

Civil Society is fragile and not vibrant enough to propel these efforts, CDES Cameroon achieved

some mile stones in 2013. Our main focus for the year was promoting participation of women

and youth in the electoral process, professionalizing election reporting by the media, engage

political party agents to safeguard electoral transparency and conducting an assessment of the

election as a whole. We went through tough challenges to push our efforts to succeed.

We are happy to share with you in this report the achievements and the impact of these

activities to our population. We commit to continue to do our best with your support in the

accomplishment to establish credible and sustained democracy and good governance in

Cameroon.

Thank you in advance for taking time to read this report and please if you have any comments,

reach us at [email protected]

Atem Oben Henry E.

Founder / Executive Director


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1. VISION

CDES Cameroon’s vision in that of a Cameroon where everyone enjoys the rights and privileges

enshrined in all International conventions and instruments and national laws; a Cameroon in

which democracy principles are respected and upheld; a Cameroon in which peace and justice

2. MISSION

In a world where democracy and elections cannot be taken for granted, the mission of the

Center is:

»To educate, promote and sustain excellence

through the respect of key values and principles

of a decent and credible democracy. «

In addressing our mission we:

1. Identify, equip and promote the right people to do the job for the good of everyone.

2. Create a fraternity of elections experts in solidarity with one another in the business of

importing and exporting elections expertise anywhere in the world.

3. Focus on democracy, governance and elections – in establishing a sustainable human

resource base for professionals in the career of democracy, human right and elections.

4. Enable professional who believe in

accountable and credible elections to

take responsibility and ensure their

beliefs and dreams for their

institutions are met.

5. Conduct research and advocacy for the

inclusion of the marginalized and

minority in decision-making processes.

prevails and everyone enjoys equal opportunities;

a Cameroon in which everyone is given the chance

to participate equally without discrimination; a

Cameroon in which leaders are called to account

for their actions in a transparent and fair manner

within which every voice and choice is valued.

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3. BACKGROUND

The Center for Democracy and Electoral Studies, CDES Cameroon, is an independent,

nonpolitical, nongovernmental and nonprofit organization founded in 2011, started operating

in 2012, dedicated to promoting and sustaining excellence in the management of democracy

and support to electoral processes in Cameroon. The Center aims at contributing towards

achieving credibility in the management of democracy, governance and electoral processes.

The Center seeks to promote awareness and adherence to democratic principles and

obligations. Our core principles are related to the advancement of Human Rights and

Democracy via a series of projects, and also foster research in these fields by creating

opportunities for Human Rights activists, election practitioners, graduate and undergraduate

students to volunteer, intern and study at the Center and its partner institutions. CDES

Cameroon is independent of any government influence, political ideology or religious

persuasions.

CDES Cameroon was founded against the background of social injustice, inequalities and

instability, deficiencies in electoral legal frameworks and stakeholder capacity to decently

manage electoral processes, lack of responsive governance and institutional support to the

poor, underprivileged and underrepresented and other forms of societal ills that continue to

plague our society.

3.1. PURPOSE

CDES Cameroon was formed for the purpose of:

Building stakeholder capacities and promoting public understanding of the different

forms of electoral systems and processes through stakeholder meetings, workshops and

conferences;

Nurturing and sustaining electoral leadership, democracy and good governance through

networking and establishing forums for exchange of information and expertise;

Promoting professionalism, integrity and excellence in the management of elections,

democracy and governance processes within institutions and among practitioners;

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Promoting inclusiveness and local level participation of the underrepresented in civic

processes;

Conducting comparative analysis with the aim of advocating for reforms;

Inculcating in citizens the need to take responsibility by participating in the public life of

the state through a series of sensitization campaigns and round table conferences.

3.2. MAIN OBJECTIVE

Our main objective is to promote excellence in the management of democracy, governance and

electoral processes through capacity building, training, advocate for changes, enhancing

inclusiveness, conduct research and give opportunities for students to explore tools that

enhance the credibility of our democracy.

3.3. CORE PRINCIPLE

CDES Cameroon recognizes that capacity building and public understanding of electoral

processes is vital to ensuring electoral transparency credibility; that promoting inclusiveness is

inseparable with enhancing human rights; that democratic participation is an indivisible value

of good and accountable governance; that responsive leadership and professionalism are vital

outputs of vibrant networks and integral elements of human interaction in promoting peace

and stability; and peace and stability are inevitable factors for development necessary to bring

improvement in the lives of Cameroonians.

3.4. COVERAGE / POPULATION SERVED

CDES Cameroon is a national organization with its

program limited with the national territory of Cameroon.

It is an independent organization with its program

targeting all segment of Cameroon’s population including

youths, women, political parties, media, minority, people

with disabilities (PWD), staff of the electoral commission

etc.

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CDES Cameroon does not distinguish or discriminate against any person on the basis of age,

sex, race, color, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, language, socio-economic

status, political opinion or religious affiliation in any of its programs and undertakings.

4. PROGRAMS

CDES Cameroon’s approach to achieving its mission and objectives is vested in its programs. We

adopted an approach, a combination of Democracy, Governance and Human Right programs

with distinct objectives whose impact meets our desired goal to creating a peaceful, stable

Cameroon where everyone enjoys and participate equally in nation building through

established processes.

4.1. DEMOCRACY PROGRAM

Our democracy program focuses on three main areas; Electoral Credibility, Governance and

Civic Participation.

a. Electoral Credibility.

Building capacities and train key election stakeholders; media, political parties,

election management staff (EMB) and citizen election monitors to professionally

conduct elections that are acceptable to all.

Create networks of professionals to exchange lessons learnt and experiences and

support forums for consultation between political parties, the civil society and the

EMB.

CDES Cameroon’s electoral credibility program aims

to establish a culture within which professionalism

and integrity prevails in the management of electoral

processes in Cameroon. To accomplish this we carry

out the following:

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Conduct advocacy and education of legislative organs and the judiciary for electoral

reforms.

Promote the inclusion of women, youths and the underrepresented and empower

them at all levels of the democracy and electoral process.

Monitor the conduct of election to ensure its compliance with international and

national legal instruments.

b. Good Governance.

The organization’s good governance program fosters institutions both public and private to be

responsive and accountable to their audience, enhancing community trust and encourages

elected leaders to be confident in their duties. In so doing, we:

Train elected leaders on the principles underlining and leading to decision making

and their legislative responsibility to ensure a progressive and consistent

development of communities.

Establish networks of elected local leaders to exchange their knowledge and support

each other in the accomplishment of their duties and making leaders to be savants

not rulers.

Build the capacity of local Council staff to effective deliver public services in a

participatory and accountable manner.

c. Civic Participation

Civic engagement is an essential ingredient in democracy

and the key to making smart, creative decisions that allow

communities to flourish today and excel at the challenges

of tomorrow. We recognize that the vibrancy of our

communities is inextricably tied to the health of the

opportunities for deliberation and dialogue. Citizens’

participation remains the corner stone of any stable,

vibrant community and essential to rebuilding local

economies, creating jobs and improving people’s lives.

Our initiatives in this domain are focused on:

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Carryout civic and voter education / information programs to all segments of

society.

Support the hosting of town hall meetings between citizens and local councils

enhancing dialogue with providers and beneficiaries of public services.

Facilitate participatory governance in the conceptualization, planning,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation of community development initiatives

and promoting sustainability of such initiatives.

Build the capacity of youth leaders in public engagement ensuring and enhancing

their leadership and active participation in decision making.

4.2. HUMAN RIGHTS

Our human rights program seeks to defend all rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights and other international and national human rights instruments and challenge

institutions to investigate and bring justice to any abuse of these rights. We affirm the universal

respect for inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms of each and every person, including

the principles of the prohibition against arbitrary detention, the right to due process and other

civil and political rights as well as social, cultural and economic rights especially to the

vulnerable, underrepresented and less privileged. In achieving this task, CDES Cameroon

established two programs; Rights to gender equality, youth civil protection and the protection

of disability and minority rights.

a. Right to Gender Equality and Youth Civil Protection.

CDES Cameroon acknowledges the numerical value of

women and youths in societies and the prevalence of

abuses and lack of representation faced by both women

and youths in daily life. We confirm that without

enhancing the rights to equality in our legal, administrative

and democratic or political system, inclusive and

sustainable development cannot be achieved. To establish

a platform were rights are respected and protected; the

organization defined the following priorities:

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Educating women and youths on their rights as enshrined in UDHR, ICCPR, CEDAW,

ICESCR and all other international and national instruments available to enhance

equality and protections of rights.

Empower women and youths to get engaged and create networks to support their

peers and foster the understanding of their rights and obligations as key members of

society.

Build capacities of female leaders to act as role models in enhancing the role of

women in decision-making and community development.

b. Protection of Disability and Minority Rights

Over 12% of Cameroon’s citizens are disabled with none represented in the legislature and less

than 2% at local government levels. CDES Cameroon believes that these segments of the

population deserve to be integrated and protected for lasting development and social peace

and stability to be attained. Our goal towards a Rights Based Perspective on Disability and

minority is focused on:

5. HIGHLIGHTS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2012 – 2013

In line with the organization’s vision, mission, objectives and programs, we were able to not

only reach a significant audience in 2013 but also achieved remarkable outcomes and impact in

Creating and supporting disability networks and

empowering them to become active in public life.

Offering electoral and leadership training

opportunities for prospective candidates with

disabilities during elections on key topics in the

democratic and electoral process.

Advocate and sensitize the legislature and the public

on the need to institutionalize and implement all

international conventions and national laws favoring

PWDs and the minority.

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/comp400.htm

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our work last year. Being an election year, our programs were defined to promote inclusiveness

and enhance electoral credibility throughout the electoral process. Despite our limited

resources, we were able to accomplish and achieve the goals of our program. Below are the

accomplishments of 2013.

a. Record Number of Women in Cameroon’s Legislature and Local Government.

Our trainings and advocacy initiatives on gender mainstreaming in the electoral process was

recognized by Elections Cameroon, the body charged with organizing and managing the

conduct of elections in Cameroon to take administrative measures back by law to integrate

gender rules in the candidate nomination process, the selection of poll workers and gender

friendly media guidelines. Our elections and gender program had the following impact:

A remarkable increase in female candidature

nomination files and a 45% away from 29% in

2007 acceptance of female candidature files for

legislative and municipal elections.

A record 32% are in Cameroon’s legislature and

over 25% in local councils as a result of our join

efforts alongside other stakeholders to support

women.

Our female campaign tools distributed using all

forms of media outlets in support of women

candidates attracted fund raising for female

candidates and built their confidence in taken

the race.

Political parties are now aware of the

importance of integrating women in the

democratic and electoral process.

Special guidelines implemented by the

election body to facilitate voting processes

for female voters and increase in the number

of female poll workers and presiding officers.

CDES Cameroon Workshop to engage women in

the 2013 general elections in Cameroon

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b. Engaged Youths in Safeguarding Electoral Integrity

Within the framework of promoting youth civic participation, CDES Cameroon trained and

engaged youth leaders in preventing and denouncing all forms of electoral malpractice and to

participate responsibly before, during and after Election Day and the publication of results. The

goals of this program were achieved in the following ways:

c. Professionalized Media Reporting during the 2013 Elections.

Media plays an inevitable role in building public trust, preventing violence, promoting

transparency, educating and informing voters / public, and making democratic contests more

competitive. Media practitioners’ convey vital information to citizens that attracts public

scrutiny of democratically elected leaders thereby promoting responsive democracy and good

governance. Our 2013 program, to build the capacity of over 40 media practitioners’ in

collaboration with the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) was

timely given that 2013 was an election year and the first time biometric voter registration was

introduced in Cameroon. This initiative had the following impact:

Practitioners understood electoral reporting based on the electoral cycle approach

covering every aspect in the process using different tools that targeted all segments

of the society.

Reduced incidence of youth participation in

electoral fraud in the South West and North

West Regions.

Increased youth participation as candidates

and poll workers.

Violent free elections safeguarded nationwide

through zero electoral violence campaign using

posters, banners and social media.

Increased participation of youths as electoral

watchdogs and monitors nationwide.

CDES Youth engagement workshop

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d. Engaged Participation of Political Party Agents.

CDES Cameroon believed that the most important watchdogs in an election are the contestants

themselves or their representatives at various phases of the electoral process. However,

reports had proven that political party or candidate representatives lacked the skills and

knowledge of the core concepts of being an election watchdog, undermined monitoring

methodologies, feedbacks and reporting to the best interest of the contestants.

Practitioners more aware of the legal

framework governing the conduct of elections,

reducing media misinterpretation of legal

provisions.

Reporting was timely, accurate and fair based

on professional investigation of facts and

permitted voters to make informed choices and

aided the resolution of operational setbacks.

Campaign platforms in non-state media were

conducted in compliance with international

standards and in conformity with the law.

The success achieved resulted in the signing of

a Memorandum of understanding between

CDES Cameroon and CAMASEJ for continuous

capacity building of its members

.

The Electoral Integrity Project also

focused on hosting a Training of

Trainers (TOT) workshop which

remarkably produced the expected

impact as detailed below.

CDES empowering media practitioners’

CDES Trains Political Party Agents of Conduct of 2013

Polls

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Party agents arrived polling stations on time with necessary checklists and

documentation.

Opening of polling was conducted on time in most cases with little discrepancies.

Operational failures and misconduct were reported timely and mitigated in

compliance with legal provisions.

Codes of conducts were respected and polling procedures adhered to in the majority

of the polling stations were trained party agents were present.

Closing and counting procedures were conducted in accordance with legal

provisions.

e. Production of a Critical Election Observation Report.

Citizen monitors under the under CDES Cameroon’s Citizen Election Observation Mission (CDES

CEOM) were trained and deployed nationwide to monitor and assess the conduct of the 2013

polls while a core team was stationed in CDES’s office to ensure coordination, data / report

collection and analysis. The CDES CEOM published its preliminary statement of the polls and

produced its final report on the conduct of the elections in November 2013 in a press

conference. The report which can be accessed on our website accomplished the mission of:

Making an assessment of the political and electoral

context in which the elections took place.

Recorded observations during the different phases

of the electoral process; the failures and successes.

Reported critical incidences in all regions that could

have altered the results in some constituencies.

Commended on limitations in the legal and

institutional framework governing the conduct of

elections in Cameroon notably campaign financing

and media access, independence of the EMB and

the electoral system.

Provided recommendations to all key stakeholders

in the electoral process.

CDES Press Briefing on its Observations

African Union Observers Visited and Encouraged CDES Cameroon

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f. Successful Installation of a Democracy and Elections Library

g. Membership / Affiliation in International Networks

In recognition of CDES Cameroon’s work and programs, the organization was admitted in

different international networks to share its works and knowledge on different topics in the

fields of democracy and elections. We became members of the following networks:

The World Movement for Democracy (WMD)

The Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM)

The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB)

The World Association of Non Governmental Organizations (WANGO)

CSO Observer Status with the African Union Commission.

The membership in these networks and organization is an indication of CDES Cameroon’s

engagement in promoting excellence in the management of democratic, governance and

election processes.

Libraries are essential in upgrading knowledge

and making research on comparative analysis

and lessons learnt. An average of 5 persons a

day make use of this facility the majority of

whom are students, EMB staff and civil society

advocates. The increased usage is a testimony

of the impact it has on stakeholders.

Publications in CDES Library

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6. PEOPLE TELLING OUR STORY

It was like a dream come true when my name was read as a Mayor. A dream I never imagined I

could achieve because of the difficult barriers women face in our present society. Thanks to your

constant support, trainings and mentorship, many women including myself were able to assemble

the required documentation to submit a candidature file on time, raise funds for campaigns and

finally got elected as members of parliament, mayors and local councilors.

CDES Cameroon instilled courage and trusts in me and permitted me to reach out to electors using

different platforms. I want to thank CDES Cameroon for your advocacy and the loud voice in

enhancing the integration of women in the electoral process in Cameroon.

I share the feeling and appreciation of many women who are today front liners in our legislature

and local governments. We continue to count on your support in the accomplishment of our duties.

It was almost impossible to think that election management is a process not an event until I few

months ago when I got admitted as an intern with your organization. I learnt many thing words cannot

express. The trainings, capacity building, education and sensitization projects I participated in gave me

a broad view of what it takes to make democracy work. My time with CDES can never be forgotten.

Your work has given hope to many and Cameroonians are beginning to have trust in the power of the

civil society.

With limited funds, sometimes from your pockets, you caused great change and impacted the way

people view elections in Cameroon. It was a privilege to work with you all and I encourage you to

continue the good works.

Deputy Mayor

City of Buea, Cameroon

TEMBONG Ernestine

To CDES Cameroon

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7. OUR GRATITUDE

The road to these accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without the financial, material

and moral support of many organizations and companies to wish we have addressed our

appreciation following our organizational policy. The Advisory Board and Management team of

CDES Cameroon wish to express the organization’s vote of thanks to you all.

We also thank the hundreds of participants who attended our trainings and capacity

development programs in 2013. We are proud of you all because you implemented what you

learnt and exchanged in a way that caused positive change, built trust and confidence in the

mindset of citizens.

Finally, CDES Cameroon wishes to express its gratitude to Elections Cameroon (EMB) for its

policy orientation in integrating women in the electoral process and encourage the institution

to continue to establish trust, dialogue and partnership with all key stakeholders in the

electoral process.

8. A CALL FOR ACTION

CDES Cameroon is a nonprofit organization whose programs and goals accomplished are

implemented based on donations from individual, organizations and companies. We value the

contributions of all and in any form to reach out to as many as possible and cause positive

changes in societies.

In 2014, CDES Cameroon will engage to making local governance effective, work with local

community leaders, newly elected mayors to foster participatory governance and propel local

development and promoting accountability. We hope to build the leadership capacities of the

women and institute a road map to ensure women are consistently promoted in decision-

making positions at all level of public life. We also look forward to educating youths on their

civic responsibilities in nation building.

The accomplishment of these initiatives would not be possible without your support. We accept

all forms of support and account for its usage to all supporters. To assist in any of our programs

please visit www.cdescameroon.org or email [email protected]. You can also make

donations directly in to our bank account. Please feel free to call us at +237 3335 1079 or +237

3302 7335 for more information. Thank you in advance for helping us meet our goal.

http://www.cdescameroon.org/


Cdes annual report 2013

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