Legislative By-election : Constitutional Council Rejects SDF Petitions

The 12 petitions the Social Democratic Front (SDF) candidates filed at the Constitutional Council calling for the total cancellation of the March 22, 2020 legislative by-election  have all been rejected by the Council. 
The President of the Constitutional Council, Clément Atangana passed the ruling in the  hearing on April 2, 2020.  He said the petitions were admissible but the facts alleged in them were unfounded. Curiously, the complainants, the SDF  substantive candidates in the 11 constituencies where the February 9, 2020 legislative election was cancelled and a rerun ordered were absent from the Constitutional Council. Even the well constituted SDF Counsel whose names were published in the programme for the hearing were all absent. The Councillor Rapporteur of the Constitutional Council, Arrey Florence Rita read out the report in which the SDF substantive candidates in the by-election mainly accused  Elections Cameroon (ELECAM),  Ministry of Territorial Administration and the competing Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) of perpetrating irregularities that marred the smooth conduct of the election. They claimed  for example that electors  were prevented from voting as ELECAM organised the elections in polling centres instead of polling stations, as well as the worrying security situation.
While ruling on the petitions, the President of the Constitutional Council listed all the complainants and their constituencies.  The 11 constituencies in which the SDF demanded the total cancellation of the by –election just as they did during the election proper are 10 in the North West Region and one in the South W...