Rights Commission Appreciates Organisation

The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF) observed that besides security challenges in the North West and South West Regions and a few incidents recorded, the polling operation of the twin legislative and municipal elections of February 9, 2020 “took place throughout the national territory in a calm and serene atmosphere.” 
The Commission through its Chairman, Dr Divine Chemuta Banda said election materials were available despite the fact that some lamps made available to local polling commissions were of low intensity. In a post-electoral press statement in Yaounde on February 17, 2020, Dr Banda said, “Elections Cameroon should be commended for their efforts to facilitate each voter’s access to his or her polling station through the innovation of informing voters by SMS messages from their polling centre and polling station before the vote.” He said people exercised their right to vote in complete freedom and the forces of law and order present in polling centres and polling stations to provide security though it was observed that their presence was less noticeable further away from urban centres. The Rights Commission chairman appreciated the inclusion of disability, especially the provision of braille ballots. As a shortcoming, he indicated the existence of stairs in some polling stations that made access for persons with disabilities difficult.
Dr Banda mentioned deployment difficulties of their observers considering that the Commission requested the Ministry of Territorial Administration to accredit 267 persons but only 88 were accredited. This made the Commission to work in collaboration with the UN Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa and also to...