Citizens in this restive region, including the Prime Minister, Head of Government Philemon Yang performed their civic responsibility on Sunday October 7, 2018 – presidential poll date.
Adolph Lele L’Afrique, Governor of the North West Region, ministers and other top personalities of North West origin and the ordinary person, joined the PM to vote at the Regional Delegation of Public Works next to army camp and at Government Primary School Upstation, in Bamenda I Subdivision.
Others voted at the government primary school old town polling centre, among several centres. Reports say voting took place in all the seven divisions of the North West region. In such areas as Mbiame in Bui Division, the electoral material arrived on board a military helicopter. Terrorists claiming to fight for a breakaway of the two English Speaking regions, vowed to disrupt the October 7 poll. There was a heavy deployment of the defence forces in the two Anglophone regions. The gunmen fell down tress and blocked the roads, threatened staff of the election management body (Elecam), militants of the CPDM and terrorised the population, in an attempt to scare citizens from leaving their homes. In an interview, the PM, after voting asked Cameroonians to emulate his example. “I have had a good time voting, I have exercised my right of voting and I encourage Cameroonians to do same.” In Bamenda, terrorists launched an attack at the Hospital Round About and Commercial Avenue in Bamenda at 6am before the polls opened and according to military sources, two were gunned down and the rest took off.
This tensed atmosphere since the Anglophone crisis which escalated two years ago made the region, a difficult terrain to campaign in. The Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement was the lone party to campaign in the region for two weeks from September 22. Eight candidates did not step foot in the region.
Elecam because of the security worries merged polling stations into centres and some are located far off from the electorate. In most areas, militants and sympathizers of the CPDM camped on the eve of the Sunday polls in houses close to the polling centre, from where they walked to vote.