| Cameroun, Conseil constitutionnel, 02 avril 2020, 31/CC/SRCER

RULING No. csse 31/CC /SRCER 000000000000 000000 0000000000 OF 0000000008 000008 2 APRIL 2020 BEFORE THE HONOURABLE COUNCILLORS
Clément Atangana PT President
Bah Bk Cr Xa
Ae Yf Yp A Xa
Bo Xd Ac Br Xa
Bg Cm Xa
Ag Au Cv Xa
Xr Bj Aa Cs Xa
Yr Ys Xa
Zn Xv Cp AO Xa
At Cz Xa
Al AG
Ct Zh Registrar-in-chief
Mrs. BF Cx Co Cf Xw …. Registrar
In the presence of Mr. Xl Bo Zk, Secretary-General;
Petitions Nos. 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49,
50, 51, 52, 53/SRCER/G/SG/CC/2020
of 25 March 2020
IN THE MATTER OF POST-ELECTORAL DISPUTES
BETWEEN ---HON BO AK Ci BG AND 11 OTHERS;
--- AND
---ELECTIONS CAMEROON (ELECAM) AND 2 OTHERS;
---After having recognised Cg Cv Ag Au and Cg Cz At
in their report;
---Delivered the following Ruling:
---THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL
---Mindful of the Constitution;
---Mindful of law no. 2004/4 of 21 april 2004 to lay down the organisation and functioning
of the Constitutional Council as amended and supplemented by Law No. 2012/15 of 21
December 2012;
---Mindful of law no. 2012/1 of 19 april 2012 relating to the Electoral Code as amended
and supplemented by Law No. 2012/17 of 21 December 2012;
---Mindful of decree no. 2018/104 of 7 february 2018 to lay down the organisation and
functioning of the Am Yc of the Constitutional Council;
---Mindful of decree no. 2018/105 of 7 february 2018 to appoint members of the
Constitutional Council;
---Mindful of decree no. 2018/106 of 7 february 2018 to appoint the President of the
Constitutional Council;
---Mindful of Decree no. 2018/170 of 23 february 2018 to appoint the Secretary-General
of the Constitutional Council;
---Mindful of Decdree No. 2020/106 of 27 february 2020 to appoint the Registrar-In-Chief
of the Constitutional Council;
---Mindful of Ruling No. 1/CC of 17 July 2019 to adopt the Ck Xe of the
Constitutional Council;
—-Mindful of Decree No. 2020/120 of 06% march 2020 to convene the electorate in some
constituencies for the election of members of the National Cu of 22 march 2020;
---Mindful of the Report of the National Commission for the Final Counting of Votes of
31 march 2020;
---Mindful of the petitions of BO AK Ci BG, Cc As Xy,
Ax Bf, Av Bh Bz, Xu Aw, Xm Bs Yn, Paul Yq
Bq, Yk An Zd, Ye Yh Zi, Cd Yd Xg,
Aq Ba Yo and BP Bo Bc;
---Considering that as per the petitions referred to above, the petitioners seek the total
cancellation of the rerun-legislative elections of the 22"* of march 2020 in some
constituencies in the BB BE AM and Xq West Region;
---Considering that in this regard, the petition of Mr. BO AK Ci BG that
is similar to the others is couched thus:
“PETITION FOR THE TOTAL CANCELLATION OF THE MARCH 22, 2020
LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS IN THE AQ BB B OF THE
BB BE AM
“TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL YAOUNDE CAMEROON
“May it please the Honourable Yl and Members of the Constitutional Council,
“HON. FUSI AK Ci BG, Substantive Candidate for the Legislative
Elections of 9/2/2020 and re-run of 22/3/2020 on the SDF List for AQ BB
B, having as Xf Xj Xo Cw, Suh Fuh Benjamin, Mbah-
Yx Ca, Yj Bm Xt, Bx Ah, Zj Cy Yt, Af
Ar and others, Tel No. 677-458-563, has the honour to petition as follows:
“That during the parliamentary elections of the 9" of Yv 2020 ail the 167 polling
stations in the AQ BB B were moved to Agyati, Bambui and Bambili and
cramped up into three polling centres thus disenfranchising the electors.
“That after the elections ! petitioned the Constitutional Council and by Decision No.
29/SRCER/G/20 of 25/2/2020 the Constitutional Council cancelled the electoral
operations of 9/2/2020 in the AQ BB B amongst other constituencies in
the BB BE AM and Lebialem in the Xq West Region. See a copy of the Decision
of the Constitutional Council attached hereto.
“That by Decree No. 2020/120 of 6/3/2020 the Head of State convened the electorate of
Bp BB, Bui West, AQ Xq, Bui Centre, Bui Xq, Mezam Centre, Momo
East, Bp Xq, Momo West and AQ BB in the BB BE AM and
Lebialem in the Xq West Region on 22/3/2020 to elect Members of Parliament in the
above constituencies where elections were cancelled by the Constitutional Council.
“That on the 7/3/2020 the Cb Yc of Elections at BN AJ signed
Decision No. 0471/D/ELECAM/DGE to lay down the organization of polling, stations, on
the occasion of the 22 March 2020 election of Members of Parliament for some
constituencies in the BB BE and Xq West Regions."
“That on the 12/3/2020 the Cb Yc of Elections at BN AJ signed
Decision No. 0474/ELECAM/DGE establishing the list of polling stations and the
distribution of electors within the said stations in some constituencies in the BB BE
AM, on the occasion of the 22 March 2020 Legislative Elections. The said Decision
and annexed List of polling stations was published in The Post Newspaper No. 02079 of
Yy Bh 16, 2020. See copies of the Decision and the List of Ao Ce in
Bafut and Ze Cg annexed thereto (pages 10 and 13 and 14), attached hereto.
“That prior to the elections of 9/2/2020 the Cb Yc of Elections at BN
AJ signed Decision No. 0450/ELECAM/DGE of 30/1/2020 establishing the list of
polling stations as well as assign electors to the said stations in the BB BE AM, on
the occasion of the legislative and municipal elections of 9 February 2020. A copy of the
said Decision is hereto attached. To the said Decision. No. 0450/ELECAM/DGE of
30/1/2020 was annexed a list of polling stations in various constituencies in the BB
BE AM AR AQ BB B in Bafut and Ze Cg. Copies of
the lists of polling stations of Cq Xf and Ze Xf as published on 30/1/2020
by the Cb Yc of Elections at BN AJ is attached hereto.
“That on the 22 March 2020 the Legislative Elections re-run took place in the AQ
BB B under the same security and organizational conditions as on the 9"
Yv 2020, which saw the election of BS By BD, CPDM Substantive
Candidate for AQ BB B.
“That by Decision No. 0474/ELECAM/DGE of 12/3/2020 establishing the list of polling
stations and the distribution of electors within the said stations in some constituencies in
the BB BE AM, BN AJ still cramped up the 167 polling stations in
the AQ BB B Ay three "Host public structures for voting" to wit: G.N.S
Agyati (Bafut) grouping 81 polling stations in Cq Xf, G.B.P.S Tubah (bambui)
grouping 39 polling stations and ENSAB HALL (Bambili) grouping 30 polling stations.
These three "Host public structures for voting" are the same three "polling centres"
created AG AW for the 9" Yv 2020 Elections. Strangely, on the polling day
(22/3/2020) ELECAM created one more "Host public structure for voting" at G.P.S Bv
which grouped 16 polling stations.
“That as could be seen from the 2 lists of polling stations published by the Cb
Yc of Elections at BN AJ on 30/1/2020 and 12/3/2020, the 167 polling
stations in the AQ BB B are for electors of the various villages and
quarters in Bafut Sub-Division and Tubah Sub-Division including Mundum |! and II,
Akufunguba, Mankwi, Nibe, Obang, Okwala, Ym, Yk, Otang which villages are
about 40 kilometres to the "host public structure for voting in G.N.S Agyati and Lih,
Mughe, Fuphense, Chubali etc which are about 25 kilometres to the three "host public
structures for voting" created in Tubah Sub-Division.
“That by still moving the 167 polling stations from their locations in villages and quarters
to the four created "host public structures for voting", ELECAM expected electors from
far off villages to trek in some cases about 40 kilometres to the "host public structures for
voting" to vote and to trek back to their villages and quarters and under the prevailing
insecurity situation in the sub-division. For instance, my polling station which is G.S
Mankwi that serves 652 electors of the Mankwi area is just about 500 metres from my
residence but ! had to cover over 20 kilometres to the "host public structure for voting" in
G.N.S Agyati to which my polling station was moved. Furthermore, my voter's card No.
02800682 bears my residence as Mankwi and my polling station as G.S Mankwi "A"
which polling station covers the Mankwi area. See a copy of my Voter's Card attached
hereto.
“Section 96 of Law No. 2012/001 of 19 April 2012 relating to the Electoral Code provides
as follows:
"96(1) The Cb Yc of Elections shall draw up the list of polling stations for
every council.
“@) Such list shall specify the area covered by each polling station.
“(8) There shall be one polling station for a maximum of 500 (five hundred)
electors.
“(4) Every polling station shall be located in public premises or in premises open to the
public".
“Honourable President and Members of the Constitutional Council, the creation of the
three and later four "host public structures for voting" in the AQ BB B
grouping 167 polling stations grossly violated Section 96 of the Electoral Code supra and
prevented many electors from exercising their right to vote. Section 4(2) of the Electoral
Code provides that "BN AJ shall perform its duties in keeping with the
Constitution and laws and regulations in force". ELECAM also acted in
disregard/violation of Decision No. 29/SRCER/G/20 of 25/2/2020 of the Constitutional
Council which FOUND MERITS in my earlier petition on this very issue of ELECAM
moving the polling stations away from the electors and grouping them into polling centres.
Article 50(1) of Law No. 96-06 of 18 January 1996 to amend the Constitution of 2 June
1972 provides that "Rulings of the Constitution al Council shall not be subject to appeal.
They shall be binding on ail public, administrative, military and judicial authorities, as
well as on ail natural persons and corporate bodies".
“The Preamble of the Constitution of Cameroon (Law No. 96-06 of 18 January 1996 to
amend the Constitution of 2 June 1972) provides inter alia as follows:
“…ÔAffirm our attachment to the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Zb
Az BJ AZ AN, the Charter of the Xs Ce and the Za Xr
on Human and Peoples' Rights, and ail duly ratified international conventions relating thereto, … "
“And Article 21 of the Zb Az BJ AZ AN provides as follows:
“() Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country,
directly or through freely chosen representatives.
“(@) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
“(8) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall
be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by
universal and equal suffrage and shall, be held by secret vote or by equivalent
free voting procedures".
“While Article 13(1) of the Za Xr on Human and Peoples Rights provides as
follows:
"Every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his country,
either directly or through freely chosen representatives in accordance with the provisions
of the law".
“And Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides as
follows:
"Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the
distinctions mentioned in Article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions:
a)To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen
representatives;
b)To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by
universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing
the free expression of the will of the electors;
c)To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country".
‘“Thus by moving the 167 polling stations in the AQ BB B BR Bt,
Bambui and Bambili and cramping them up into three and later four l'host public
structures for voting", ELECAM violated Sections 4(2) and 96 of the Electoral Code, the
Preamble of the Constitution, the above cited International Conventions duly ratified by
Cameroon as well as Decision No. 29/SRCER/G/20 of 25/2/2020 of the Constitutional
Council.
“Electors were therefore prevented from choosing their representatives by conveniently
moving to their polling stations and voting.
“That electors were prevented from voting by insecurity as on the day of the polls there
was gun battle between Zl Bn and Yz Bu in Bafut.
“The gunshots scared and kept most of the electors in and around Bafut indoors
throughout the day of the polls. Some CPDM elites who went to the "host public
structures for voting" to vote did 50 under very tight security cover. See some pictures
attached hereto.
“That prior to the election the list of polling stations was never posted up at least 8 days
to the polling as provided by Section 97 of the Electoral Code which provides as follows:
"The list of polling stations shall be forwarded to Council Branches of BN
AJ for posting up at least 8 (eight) days before the day of election".
“From the foregoing the petitioner urges the Constitutional Council to;
- Hold that this petition has been filed in conformity with Section 168 as read
with Sections 132 to 136 of Law No. 2012/001 of 19 April 2012 relating to the
Electoral Code and to consequently declare same ADMISSIBLE;
- Find merits in the petition and totally cancel the electoral operations of the
Legislative Elections of 22"* March 2020 in the AQ BB B of
the BB BE AM.
- Comply with the provisions of Section 135 of the Electoral Code.
“With Profound Respect.
“DONE IN BAFUT THIS 24"" DAY OF MARCH 2020.
“HON. BO AK Ci BG
“SDF SUBSTANTIVE CANDIDATE
“AQ BB B
---Considering that the petitions were notified to the respondents and that they filed their
submissions in reply which were similar;
---That in this regard, Cameroon People’s Z AY AH), with Yj
Zg Zf, AU Ab, Y Bo, AI Bl, AP Yk BF Cn,
BK BL Yb Af, AV BI Bb and BT Bh and Xb
Zo of Counsel for respondents submitted as follows:
“BEFORE THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL
“HOLDEN AT YAOUNDE
“BETWEEN
“FUSI NAAMUKONG (Social Z ATAL, PETITIONER
“AND
“BN AJ (ELECAM)
“BS By BD,
“AJ X Z AY (CPDM), RESPONDENTS
“RESPONSE OF THE CAMEROONS PEOPLE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT
(CPDM) TO PETITION No. 181 RECEIVED ON THE 25/03/2020 AT THE
REGISTRY
“MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIPS the AJ X Z AY
(hereinafter CPDM) doth hereby prays Your Lordships to declare inadmissible, and
ultimately dismiss the petition of FUSI NAAMUKONG of the Social Z AT
(hereinafter SDF) for the elections of the 22” March 2020.
“On the Substance (merits) of the Petition
1. First and foremost, the petition submitted before this Honourable Constitutional
Council is more than sufficient evidence that there was effectively an election that
was conducted in the AQ BB B
2. Secondly, the petitioner has not shown any evidence of the atmosphere decried on
the particular date of the 22" March 2020.
3. The petitioner is complaining about the displacement of polling stations, but fails to
understand that the same Section 96 of the Electoral Code authorizes the Cb General of ELECAM to draw up a list polling stations, in places open to the public,
that are convenient for all voters.
“Consequently, and in conformity with Section 96, polling stations were effectively drawn
up, staffed and fully equipped and all parties and contestants were duly informed.
“In fact, the petitioner fails to show any evidence of the existence of the so called “host
public structures for voting”.
4. The petitioner further complains that BN AJ violated Section 97 of
the Electoral Code, which states that:
“The list of polling stations shall be forwarded to Council Branches of BN
AJ for posting up at least eight (08) days before the day of the election”
“However, the petitioner does not show any evidence that the lists of polling stations were
not published.
“On the contrary, BN AJ (ELECAM) not only complied with Section 97, but
went further to put all the contestants, parties and voters on notice at least eight (08) days
before the vote, by publishing the lists in the national and local newspapers, to wit,
AJ Xc and The Post respectively. In the spirit of Section 97, the legislator
requires that voters are informed by the best means whatsoever of where they have to vote.
5. The petitioner has failed to demonstrate how either of the local and international
texts cited, were violated during the conduct of the said election.
6. The cardinal principle in bring matters before a tribunal, is that he who alleges any
facts, must bring clear and incontrovertible evidence to the facts alleged.
As far as copies of pictures of persons and polling stations attached herewith are
concerned, they are not indicative of neither the election operations in the AQ Xq
constituency on the 22" March 2020, nor of the general atmosphere of violence alleged.
“Further, the petitioner does not provide any evidence of the said distances complained
about nor does the Electoral Code provide for any peculiar distances between voters and
polling stations.
“Summarily, the petitioner has failed to provide any of such evidence before this
Honourable Constitutional Council.
“From the above, we urge Your Lordships to dismiss the said petition
“RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED
“Yaoundé 27” day of March. 2020
“ADDRESSES FOR SERVICE:
“RESPONDENTS: c/o their Counsel
“Yj Zg Zff
“AU Abb
“Y Bo
BC AI Luke
“AP Yk BF Cn
BC BK BL Yb Xhh
“AV BI Bbb
“BT Bhh
“Xb Zo
“sign”;
---Considering that for its part, BN AJ (ELECAM) with BM Bh
BA, Okha Bau Xi and Atangana Amougou Joseph, of Counsel for respondents
also submitted as follows:
“IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL OF CAMEROON-YAOUNDE.
“WRITTEN REPLY IN DEFENCE OF THE RESPONDENT
“FOR: BN AJ (ELECAM)
- Xj BM Bh BA ;
- Barrister OKHA BAU OKHA ;
- Maître ATANGANA AMOUGOU Joseph — Advocates
“AGAINST :
“-SOCIAL Z AT (SDF) “HON. BO AK Ci BG
“-AGHO OLIVIER BAMENJU (CPDM)
“MOTIVE OF PETITION:
“PETITION FOR THE TOTAL CANCELLATION OF THE LEGISLATIVE ELECTION
RESULTS OF MARCH 22, 2020 IN THE AQ BB CONSITUENCY.
“ELECTORAL CONSTITUENCY:
“AQ BB
“MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIPS:
“The Petitioner filed a petition dated the 24” March 2020 before the Constitutional
Council, registered on the next day with registration No.181 praying the Council for a
total cancellation of the Legislative Election of 22" March 2020 in the AQ BB
B of the BB BE AM.
“The petitioner alleges that he was the substantive candidate for the elections that took
place in the AQ BB B on the 9” Yv 2020 and the re-run o22t''
22" March 2020 that was ordered by the Constitutional Council in Decision
No:29/SRCER/G/20 of 25" February 2020, that during the election of 09 Yv 2020,
all the 167 polling stations in his constituency were moved to Agyati, Bambili and Bambui
and cramped in one polling center thus disenfranchising elector; that the Cb
Yc of Elections on the 12/03/2020 signed Decision No.0474/ELECAM/DGE
establishing the list of polling stations and the distribution of electors within the said
stations in some constituencies in the BB BE and Xq West Regions on the occasion
of the 22/03/2020 legislative elections; that prior to the 09/02/2020 elections , the Cb
Yc of Elections signed a similar decision on the 30/01/2020
No.0450/ELECAM/DGE where the list of polling stations of the BB BE were annexed
including those of his constituency. He equally alleges that the elections of the 22/03/2020
in his constituency took place under the same security and organizational conditions as of
09/02/2020, which saw the election of the CPDM candidate in his constituency.
“He further alleges that the Decision of the Cb of Elections of the 12/03/2020
putting all the polling stations in his constituency in four host public structures to cause
electors to trek for long distances violated the provisions of Section 96 of the Electoral
Code by violating their rights to vote.
“Before we submit My Lords, it is pertinent for us to give a resume of the reasons why the
Constitutional Council annulled the polls of 09/02/2020 in the 11 constituencies of the
BB BE and Xq West Regions:
-The transfer of polling stations to polling centers without adequate notification to
electors;
-That there were more than 500 electors in some polling stations;
-That the Minister of Zm Cj signed a decision prohibiting movements
of the population within the BB BE and Xq West Regions.
“SUBMISSION TO THE COUNCIL:
“AII the arguments raised by the petitioner in support of his petition, cannot be founded
for the reasons that all the findings of the Constitutional council to buttress the annulment
of the elections of 09/02/2020 were satisfied by BN AJ during the re-run of
22/03/2020;
“We submit My Lords that one of the allegations of the petitioner in his petition for the
cancellation of the elections of 09/02/2020 was that voters were not informed of the
change of their polling station in advance. The Cb Yc of Elections in a
Decisions No.0474/ELECAM/DGE and No. 0475/ELECAM/DGE drew up the list of
polling stations in all the Sub Divisions that were concern for the re-run ordered by the
constitutional Council in the BB BE and Xq West Regions including the
petitioner’s constituency. The said decision was published in AJ Xc
Yg of Monday 16/03/2020 and the Post Xz Aj of Yy
Bh 16, 2020. Copies are hereby submitted to our reply and marked as Exhibit”A” to
“A1”.
“Furthermore, Election Cameroon after the publication of the decisions here above
mentioned, all the stake holders who were involved in the re-run were equally invited and
handed the decisions in both English and French together with the attachment fixing the
polling stations and the number of electors assigned to each polling station with the area
of coverage of each polling station. The C Am Yc, Hon Yw Zn
personally collected as the “Mandataire” for the party and signed. See a copy here
attached and marked as Exhibit “B”.
“Prior to the signing of the Decision No. 0474 and 0475 for the eleven Constituencies for
the re-run in the BB BE and Xq West Regions by the Cb Yc of Elections
on the 12/03/2020, the president of the Ak Xk convened a meeting of all the
political parties to take part in the re-run on the 05/03/2020 at the conference hall of
BN AJ, where the parties unanimously agreed that the fixing of the polling
station should be done taking into consideration the security challenges which has
displaced the potential voters to secured areas within the Regions. See a copy of the
attendance sheet herein attached and marked as exhibit “C”. The petitioner got the
decision fixing the polling stations in his constituency after the concertation and was very
satisfied, then went in for campaigns and the polls. He never complained but only found
fault in the fixing of the polling stations only after losing the election. In conclusion, all the
electors had sufficient information of where they were to exercise their rights to vote
which they did unfettered.
“The President and Honourable Members of the Constitutional Council, we further submit
that the petitioner in his petition alleges that the fixing of polling stations in public
structures for the polls of 22/03/2020 within his constituency violated the provision of
Section 96 of the Electoral code is not true.
“Section 96 (1) of the Electoral Code Stipulates;
““The Cb Yc of Elections shall draw up the list of polling stations for every
council”.
“Section 96 (2) of the Electoral Code stipulates;
“such list shall specify the area covered by each polling station”
“From the above, we submit that the Cb Yc is in conformity with the Electoral
law and the Constitution of the country. The law in the contrary does not give the latitude
to candidates nor any other authority to determine the number of polling stations in any
council area but to the Cb Yc of Elections alone. The said right was duly
exercised by the Cb Yc of Elections on the 12/03/2020 by signing Decisions No.
0474/ELECAM/DGE and No. 0475/ELECAM/DGE to fix the number of polling stations
for the 11 constituencies for the re-run in the BB BE and Xq West Regions. The list
of the polling stations specified the area covered by each polling station with the number
of electors assigned in each polling station not exceeding 500 electors (Section 96(3) of
the Electoral Code). All the polling stations were all found within the council area
concerned as required by the Electoral code. The law does not mention anywhere that the
said polling stations should be taken to the door steps of electors. Copies of the decisions
are hereby attached with the annexes and marked as Exhibits “D” to “D1”.
“We further submit that Section 96(4) of the Electoral code provides that;
““Every polling station shall be located in public premises or in premises open to the
public”
“The petitioner mentioned the fact that all the polling stations in his constituency were all
found in public host structures for the polls as mentioned by the decisions of the Cb
Yc of Elections in conformity with the law. The law does not forbid many polling
stations to be put in one public premises or premises opened to the public but only
stipulate that none of the polling station shall have more than 500 electors. From the
submission of the petitioner, there is no iota of evidence to attest that any of the polling
station found in the host public structures had more than 500 electors. What suffices is
whether the public structure has enough accommodation to host the polling stations.
Furthermore, the each polling stations in all the public structures hosting the polling
stations had local polling commissions that conducted the polls in their respective polling
stations and drew up their reports for onward transmission.
“The Constitutional Council in her decision cancelling the elections in the 11
constituencies ordered Elections re-run. Elecam simply followed the decision and carried
the re-run in accordance with the Constitution of Cameroon, Electoral Law and
international Conventions.
“The second to last issue to be addressed is the allegation by the petitioner that BN
AJ violated the provisions of Section 97 of the Electoral Code. It stipulates that:
“The list of polling stations shall be forwarded to Council Branches of BN
AJ for posting up at least 8 (eight) days before the day of elections”.
“We submit that the list was not only submitted for posting to the Xf Cl Bd
but the Head Office of Elecam went ahead to do the postings in AJ Xc and the
post News Paper here above mentioned, which are papers widely read by the population
of those two regions.
“The last issue to be addressed here is that, during the elections of 22/03/2020, the
Xx BJ Zm Cj never signed any decision limiting the movements of
the population in the Regions as was the case in the elections of 09/02/2020. Thus the
electors were very free to exercise their civic rights to vote or not to vote.
“FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
“And for some other reasons that the Constitutional Council may evoke suo-moto;
“IN FORM:
“Declare the petition admissible for having been made within the time frame provided by
the law.
“ON THE MERITS:
“Reject and dismiss the petition for being unfounded for want of evidence.
“Yi Add
“Zc, the 28th March 2020.
“FOR BN AJ (ELECAM)
“Xj BM Bh BA;
« Barrister OKHA BAU OKHA ;
“Maître ATANGANA AMOUGOU Joseph;
---Considering that the Xx BJ Zm Cj as the representative of the
State was served with the petitions and they filed similar replies of which one of them
reads thus:
“SUBMISSIONS OF THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATE OF CAMEROON
(MINAT) ON THE TOTAL CANCELLATION OF THE LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS OF 22
MARCH 2020 IN AQ BB B
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL, YAOUNDE
“May it please the Constitutional Council
“Mindful of the petition of 25 March 2020 registered under No. 181 at the Registry of the
Constitutional Council;
“Considering that Mr. BO AK Ci BG, candidate on the SDF list for the
legislative elections of 22 March 2020, with Xo Cw, Suh Fuh Benjamin, Zi
Yx Ca, Mbah Yu Xr, Yj Bm Xt, of counsel for petitioners,
and others seek the total cancellation of the electoral operations in AQ BB
B;
“That in support of his petition, the petitioner holds that the elections of 22 March 2020
were organised under the same conditions as those organised on 9 February 2020 that
were cancelled by the Constitutional Council by Ruling No. 29/SRCER/G/20 of 25
February 2020;
“That the same polling centres were maintained AG AW, a situation that obliged
voters to cover long distances to exercise their right to vote;
“That in addition to the regularity and fairness of the polls that constituted the basis of
many provisions of the national law and even some international conventions were
violated;
“That the provisions referred to above include the Preamble of the Constitution, Article 21
of the Zb Az BJ AZ AN, Article 13(1) of the Za Xr on
Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Xn AN, and Articles 4(2), 96 and 97 of the Electoral Code;
However, considering that the State of Cameroon (MINAT) intends to show that the
petition cannot prosper;
“That the Constitutional Council will uphold our opinion through the arguments
developed as follows:
“ I- Violation of Ruling No. 29/SRCER/G/20 of 25 February 2020
“Considering that the petitioner claims BQ AW organised the elections of 22 March
2020 in violation of the ruling referred to above that is said to have banned polling
centres;
“That the same polling stations and the same centres were used anew as per the decision
of 12 March 2020 to draw up the list of polling stations and the distribution of voters per
polling station in some constituencies in BB BE AM and Xq West Region;
“Considering however, that with regard to the elections of 9 Yv 2020, the
Constitutional Council rather blamed ELECAM for having transferred polling stations to
public areas “without the knowledge of the people”;
“BQ AW made efforts by collaborating with the parties concerned for proper
information of voters
“That it is in this way that in the organisation of the elections of 22 March 2020, it
published the list of polling stations on 12 March 2020;
“That this document also contains public facilities to accommodate the different polling
stations;
“That all information was put at the disposal of voters in compliance with the ruling of the
Constitutional Council of 25 February 2020;
“That in addition, the petitioner was free to apply to the competent Administrative Court
for the cancellation of the said decision of the Cb Yc BJ AW that was a
prejudice to its interests;
“That by failing to do so, the petitioner failed to exercise his rights;
“That consequently, the alleged violation is unfounded;
“II- Violation of Article 21 of the Zb Az BJ AZ AN, Article 13(1) of
the Za Xr on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 25 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights “ Considering that the petitioner cites the provisions of the articles referred to above that
guarantee the right to vote, to raise violation of same in the organisation of the elections
of 22 March 2020;
“That in fact, he refers to the following provisions:
“- Article 21 of the Zb Az BJ AZ AN which provides: “Everyone
has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely
“-Article 13 (1) of the Za Xr on Human and Peoples’ Rights which provides:
“Every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his country,
either directly or through freely chosen representatives in accordance with the provisions
of the law.;
“- Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides:
“Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions
mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions:
“(_… ) b) to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by
universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free
expression of the will of the electors…”;
“Considering however, that the rights guaranteed by the relevant instruments on AZ
AN do not have the same stutus;
“That indeed, it is proper to differentiate between AZ AN that cannot be restricted
(right not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, the right to life) described as the “hard core” of AZ AN, and the right
to vote which does not fall under the same category;
“That such restrictions fall under two categories: respect of the right of another person
and respect of the best interest of the society and/or the State;
“That with regard to the best interests of the society or of the State, the relevant grounds
include public decency, public policy, general well-being, common interest, national
security, public safety, and public health;
“That Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights referred to
above clearly suggests the possibility of restrictions to the right to vote as it provides: “ Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions
mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions”;
“That the restrictions imposed on the right to vote during the elections of 22 March 2020
are in no way unreasonable but are amply justified not only by the prevailing security
context but also by the desire to preserve the right to life of citizens;
“That the said restrictions cannot constitute a violation of the right to vote to the extent of
being a ground for cancellation of the electoral operations in the constituencies
concerned;
“III Violation of Articles 96 and 97 of the Electoral Code
“Considering that the petitioner claims violation of the provisions of the articles referred
to above in that the polling stations comprised more than 500 persons and that the list of
polling stations was not forwarded to the Council branches of ELECAM to be pasted up at
least 8 days before the polling date;
“Considering however, that a reading of the decision of the Cb Yc of ELECAM
produced by the petitioner himself shows that no polling station comprised more than 500
persons;
“That consequently, it is an argument that is unfounded;
“That in addition, he fails to produce evidence to show that the decision of 12 march 2020
published 10 days before election day was not forwarded within the legal time limit;
“That besides, the signing of the decision on the date referred to above clearly shows that
the lists were pasted up within the time limit provided for by Article 96 of the Electoral
Code;
“That moreover, the petition for cancellation filed by the petitioner following the earlier
cancellation of 25 February 2020 does not fall under any hypotheses provided for by the
Electoral Code; consequently, the Constitutional Council will justly declare it unfounded;
“Upon these grounds and any other ground raised of its own motion by the Constitutional
Council,
“May it please the Constitutional Council:
“declare the submissions of MINAT admissible as having been filed in the form and within
the time limit provided for by law;
“declare the petition of Mr. BO AK Ci BG unfounded;
“consequently, disallow same;
“And justice would have been rendered
““Yaounde, 1 April 2020
“The representative of the State
“Mrs. Ai Be Ch Bi
BH OF PROCEEDINGS
---Considering that all the twelve (12) petitions are similar in facts and in law, it is
convenient for a proper administration of justice to consolidate them and deliver a single
Ruling in respect thereof.
ADMISSIBILITY OF PETITIONS
---Considering that Article 48(1) of the Constitution provides:
“The Constitutional Council shall ensure the regularity of presidential elections,
parliamentary elections and referendum operations. It shall proclaim the results
thereof.”;
---That pursuant to Section 132(2) of the Flectoral Code, the Constitutional Council “shall
rule on all petitions filed by any candidate, any political party which took part in the
election or any person serving as a representative of the Administration for the
election, requesting the total or partial cancellation of election operations.”
---That for its part, Section 133(1) and (3) provides:
“(1) AII petitions filed pursuant to the provisions of Section 132 above must reach the
Constitutional Council within no more than 72 (seventy two) hours of the close of the
“(8) Under pain of rejection, the petition shall specify the alleged facts and means…”.
---From a reading of all the provisions referred to above, admissibility of a petition must
fulfil three (3) conditions namely, the petitioner must have locus standi, respect the time
limit provided for by law and clearly state the facts and points of law alleged;
---That in this matter, the petitions referred to above have complied with the
aforementioned legal provisions;
---It is proper to declare them admissible.
ON THE MERITS
---Considering that in their respective petitions, the petitioners sought the total cancellation
of the legislative elections of 22 March 2020 in Bp BB, Bui West, AQ Xq,
Bui Centre, Bui Xq, Mezam Centre, Momo East, Bp Xq, Momo West,
AQ BB constituencies in BB BE AM and Lebialem constituency in Xq
West Region for almost similar grounds, in particular, violation of Articles 96 and 97 of
the Electoral Code, Ruling No. 29/SRCER/G/20 of 25 February 2020 by the Constitutional
Council, and fraud during the recent polls;
---Considering that in their respective submissions in reply, respondents challenged the
said allegations;
---That according to them, voters of the constituencies referred to above effectively
exercised their right to vote as shown by the retum sheets of the local vote counting
Commissions;
---Considering in this regard, that section 96 of the Electoral Code provides:
“(1) The Cb Yc of Elections shall draw up the list of polling stations for every
council.
“(2) Such list shall specify the area covered by each polling station.
“(3) There shall be one polling station for a maximum of 500 (five hundred) electors.
“(4) Every polling station shall be located in public premises or in premises open to the
---That section 97 of same Code provides:
“The list of polling stations shall be forwarded to Council Branches of BN
AJ for posting up at least 8 (eight) days before the day of election.”;
---That from the sections referred to above, only the Cb Yc of Elections is
competent to draw up the list of polling stations, indicate their respective jurisdictions,
determine the number of electors per polling station, which shall not exceed five hundred
(500), and ensure that they are situated in public places or places open to the public;
---Considering that an examination of the case file shows that in the enforcement of the
ruling of the Constitutional Council, the Chairperson of the Ak Xk BJ BN
AJ held a consultation meeting with all the political parties competing in the said
elections on 5 March 2020, that is, seventeen (17) days before the day of election, to lay
down the strategies for the determination of polling stations taking into account security
challenges that caused the displacement of potential electors;
---That the political parties concerned were agreed on the strategies and an attendance list
drawn up for that purpose was included in the case file;
---That it was in this regard that the Cb Yc of Elections, by Decision No.
474/ELECAM/DGE of 12 March 2020, drew up the list of polling stations and their
distribution in the constituencies concerned;
---That in spite of such concerted operation, the participation rate further dropped from
10.32% in the election of 9 February 2020 to 9.5% in the election of 22 March 2020;
---That it is obvious that contrary to the previous situation, this time, electors chose to
abstain; an action that is in no way linked to the claim of delocalisation and cramping of
polling stations raised;
---That consequently, such claims are unfounded since the law does not provide for a
minimum threshold of abstention which, in this case cannot be a ground for cancellation;
---Considering that on the allegation of violation of section 97 of the Electoral Code with
regard to the non-respect of the time limit of eight (8) days to post up the list of polling
stations, it is also clear from the case file BQ AW notified the decision containing
the list of polling stations to all the political parties concerned in both English and French
and that the Secretary-Gener al in the person of Mr. Yw Zn received same on 13
March 2020 that is, nine (9) days before the day of election, on behalf of SDF in his
capacity as representative;
---That ELECAM also published the decision containing the list of polling stations in the
press in particular, AJ Xc and The Post on 16 March 2020;
---That consequently, it is proper to declare the said allegation unfounded;
---Considering that one of the petitioners, Mr. Zi Yx Bo Bc attached pictures
of a wounded man indicating that there was violence in some areas during the elections and that the perpetrators of the violence attack people indiscriminately. And the violence
cannot be attributed to any of the parties;
---That there is no evidence to support the allegations contained in the petitions;
---Considering that on the other claims raised in some petitions that section 134 of the
Electoral Code provides:
“The Constitutional Council may, without prior adversarial hearing, issue a reasoned
decision to reject any petition it considers inadmissible or to be based solely on objections
which cannot influence the outcome of the election.”;
---Considering that in this matter, as per the difference in the votes obtained the political
parties in contest, that is, 30,305 votes for CPDM, 8,425 votes for SDF, 1,036 votes for
BRIC, 93 votes for UDP, 24 votes for OPDC, and 18 votes for CDP, the claims raised did
not influence the outcome of the polls;
---It is proper to declare them unfounded;
UPON THESE GROUNDS
---The Constitutional Council, ruling as a final jurisdiction, in open session after full
hearing from the parties on post-electoral disputes, and with the unanimous vote of its
members:
---Consolidates petitions Nos. 42,43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52,
53/SRCER/G/SG/CC/2020 of 25 March 2020 filed respectively by Messrs. BO
AK Ci BG, Cc As Xy, Ax Bf, Av Bh Bz,
Xm Bs Yn, Paul Yq Bq, Yk An Zd, Ye Yh Zi,
Cd Yd Xg, Aq Ba Yo, BP Bo Bc
and Ms. Xu Aw, on grounds of similarity in relief sought and parties;
---Declares them admissible;
---Dismisses them as unfounded;
---Declares that there is no order as to costs;
---Orders that this ruling be served forthwith on the Ak Xk, the Xx BJ
Zm Cj, and the parties concerned, and be published in the Xp
Bw in English and French;
---This is the ruling of the Constitutional Council as delivered this 2 April 2020;
---In witness whereof, this ruling has been signed by the President, the Secretary-General,
and countersigned by the Registrar-in-chief;
PRESIDENT SECRETARY-GENERAL
Ap Ya Xl Bo Zk
REGISTRAR-IN-CHIEF
Zh