Two election officials were killed in NW Cameroon as separatists vowed to disrupt Senate elections

According to officials in Cameroon, the capital of the Northwest region, rebels are responsible for the deaths of two election officials. The rebels have pledged to sabotage Cameroon’s Senate elections on March 12. The assassinations won’t stop election preparations, according to the authorities.

The military presence in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s northwest region, was reportedly enhanced as Cameroonians woke up on Friday morning.

The military claimed Thursday night that numerous homes, particularly those in the fashionable neighbourhood of Foncha Street, had been searched, although it did not specify why the search was conducted or whether any arrests had been made.

Gilbert Yufela Tateng, district chairman of the Cameroon elections management authority, was found dead early on Thursday in Jakiri town, roughly 90 kilometres north of Bamenda.

Tateng was shot and died Wednesday night, according to the military.

Tateng is getting ready for the senatorial elections in Cameroon, which are scheduled for March 12.

The Northwest region’s Momo administrative unit’s election coordinator, John Fai, was also assassinated on Thursday, according to ELECAM. The officials’ deaths, according to ELECAM and the Cameroonian government, were caused by separatists.

Capo Daniel said on behalf of the separatist Ambazonia Defense Forces that the two officials had disobeyed orders and were planning for the election.

“There will be severe repercussions for any Ambazanian citizen who votes in the senatorial elections in Cameroon.” “Our soldiers will pursue the Cameroonian authorities in charge of organising these elections on suspicion of supporting colonialism,” added Daniel. “Two ELECAM officers have already met with a harsh end for working with a hostile state to impose its laws on our citizens.”

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Separatists dispute local media claims that an enraged mob killed Fai.

The breakaway state that English-speaking separatists are battling to create from primarily French-speaking Cameroon is known as Ambazaonia.

Last Monday, President Paul Biya declared that the March 12 Senate elections would take place. Prior to the registration deadline of January 28, ELECAM staff members are in their offices accepting candidate applications.

The head of ELECAM, Enow Abrams Egbe, said last week at a news conference in Yaounde that security has gotten better because separatists have said they will try to mess up the polls.

Egbe stated that in order to effectively contribute to the peacebuilding process, national cohesion, and discourse in our beloved and beautiful country, we must be prepared to face the challenges that lie ahead. As a guarantee for an inclusive and widely recognised election process in our nation, “our objective and ambition are to boost voter turnout and maintain citizens’ rights to vote.”

The government of Cameroon insists that the elections must go as scheduled.

The electoral college, which will vote on March 12, is made up of approximately 15,000 councillors from Cameroon’s 60 districts.

Voters, candidates, and election officials shouldn’t be penalised for planning or taking part in elections, according to Lawrence Tangwa, a councillor from Bui, the administrative unit where Jakiri is located.

“I am aware of the threats, but the state has a duty to defend its residents and property,” Tangwa remarked. “It is your own way that you participate in local development,” the candidate said. “I think that they (voters and candidates) are all mobilising towards the 12th of March.” Participating in elections is a civic duty. It is also your own method by which you influence local development.

Separatists in the English-speaking west of the country started their uprising in 2017 because they said that the French-speaking majority had been unfair to them for years.

The fighting has caused more than 3,500 deaths and more than 500,000 people to have to leave their homes, according to the United Nations.