Senatorial Election: Political Parties Lure Voters via Public Propaganda
Political parties running for the election of senators on March 12 have begun canvassing for votes from the electoral college since the campaigns were launched on Saturday February 25, 2023.
Ten political parties running for the election have been allocated television and radio airspace on the CRTV in order to spread their political agenda in order to convince the electoral college to vote for their candidates.
Apart from media appearances, the electorate are quite known to the ten parties in contention and are implementing diverse strategy to win over voters.
CPDM is going to run in the South and South West regions alone and yet are still holding meetings to ensure that they get all the votes.
The UDC party running in the West region only is counting on convincing municipal councilors and regional councilors of other parties through their social agenda in order to spin their votes.
Others like the PCRN party through rallies have raised funds to support the campaign cost.
What the Electoral Code Provides on the Senatorial Campaign
Sections 87 to 95 of the Electoral Code states the rules of the campaign.
As per the Electoral Code Section, the campaign opened fifteen days preceding the election and will end on the midnight of March
11.
Candidates are allowed to prepare circulars, manifestos or posters at their own expense or that of the party presenting their candidature.
Such circulars, manifestos or posters shall be in the color chosen for the candidate or party. They shall bear the chosen initials printing the ballot papers.
The maximum size of the posters prepared for the election campaign shall be determined by decision of the Director General of Elections.
Section 88 states that the General Directorate of Elections shall, for every candidate, party or list of candidates running in the election, print a number ballot papers equivalent to the number of registered electors, plus one quarter thereof, as well as campaign ballot papers.
SECTION 89 indicates such circulars, manifestoes and posters signed by the representative of the list, candidate or political party shall be submitted in duplicate to Elections Cameroon for prior endorsement.
The size of ballot papers shall be determined by decision of the Director General of Elections, after consultation with the Electoral Board. A copy of such circular, manifesto and poster shall be filed and the other copy, carrying the endorsement, shall be handed back to the candidate or to the representative of the candidate, list or political party. The printed document shall make mention of the endorsement.
The endorsement shall be withheld where a document is tantamount to a call to violence or undermines national territorial integrity, the Republican form of the State, State sovereignty, national unity or incites hatred against a State official or a citizen or a body of citizens.
The endorsement shall indicate the color and initials assigned to each candidate or political party. SECTION 90: Any document published and circulated in contravention of the provisions of Sections 87, 88 and 89 shall, at the instance of Elections Cameroon, be seized by the Administrative Authorities without prejudice to such criminal prosecution as may be instituted against the authors such documents and the disseminators.
Bruno Ndonwie Funwie
