Monitoring and Observing elections

By Tazoacha Asonganyi,Yaounde

Following recent publications indicating that the Chairman of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) has been invited to monitor elections in South Africa, the issue of monitoring and observing elections is brought to the fore. If one were to go by the dictionary definition of "observe" and "monitor", election monitoring and election observation would be used interchangeably.

But they represent different concepts, even if there is a lot that is common to both.
Usually, the election observer has no role in election administration while the monitor has.
The election observer only observes and does not play a supervisory or executive role; the election monitor does not only observe, take note and report but also supervises and gives binding, corrective instructions to the election officials in the course of the electoral process.

In principle, the monitor is a representative of a political party or candidate. Since political parties field candidates at elections, their monitors participate in the maintenance of transparency of the electoral process, to ensure that no other party receives more favourable treatment; indeed, they look out for the interests of their party/candidate.

Not so for the election observer whose role is usually said to be the purposeful gathering of information regarding an electoral process and the making of informed judgement about the process on the basis of the information collected.

In other words, the purpose of observation is to establish whether an election is carried out in accordance with the laws, rules, regulations and processes that govern the conduct of elections in the country concerned, and check the behaviour of officials and stakeholders in relation to the election.
There are usually local and international observers.

In the African context, the most important local observers known include the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) in Ghana and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) in Nigeria. Indeed, during the recent Ghanaian elections, CODEO deployed 4000 independent observers to polling stations throughout Ghana; among them were 1000 Rapid Response Observers (RRO) deployed in "statistically representative and randomly sampled polling stations" throughout the country.
Each RRO was required to send five text messages on Election Day to the CODEO Observation Centre at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre, Accra.

Using the information received from RROs and other CODEO observers, CODEO carried out a Parallel Voting Tabulation (PVT) to publish exit polls. Their exit poll coincided to the nearest decimal point with the final results published by the Electoral Commission of Ghana for the first round of the Presidential election! CODEO also played an important role during the presidential election rerun.
This is why it is appropriate to recommend that the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church, the Cameroon Union of Journalists and other local NGOs that send out local election observers during elections in Cameroon would do well to form a coalition similar to CODEO, so they can play a more significant role during such elections.

International Organisations like the African Union, the European Union, the Commonwealth, The Carter Centre, the National Democratic Institute, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the Francophonie and others usually send out international observers to observe elections in various countries. Such observers stay for weeks/months before the actual Election Day to assess candidate registration, the legal framework, the media situation, the work of the election administration, and the campaign environment, or for about a week to Election Day to observe the opening of polling stations, the voting process, and the counting and tabulation of results.
Some international observers usually remain in the country after Election Day for a few weeks to observe how possible election-related shortcomings and complaints are dealt with by the election administration and the judiciary.
Both local and international observers usually adhere to a code of conduct that prescribes strict impartiality, no conflict of interest, professionalism, discretion, no hindrance of the process, no giving of instructions, no contradiction of decision of election officials, fact-based conclusions, no individual declarations on process, and much more.
Each Organisation that deploys observers during elections gives its specific instructions to its observers.
From the foregoing, it is clear that the Chairman of ELECAM is technically an observer, not a monitor; he is a short term international observer in the Commonwealth Observer Group for the South African elections.
What the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa will be showcasing on Wednesday 22 April, 2009 is actually the apex of a process that has been prepared for about five years.

We do hope that the much the ELECAM Chairman will observe will inspire, not overwhelm him. In any case, the man who urgently needs such exposure is not the Chairman of ELECAM, but the Director General who is responsible for the organisation and management of the poll in Cameroon.

Why Africa South of Sahara Has Highest HIV/AIDS Infections !

By Chief A.S. Ngwana in Douala

To know why Africa South of the Sahara has the highest rate about 76% of HIV/AIDS infections in the world, we must revert to history.
From about 100,000 to 10,000 years ago man survived mainly by hunting, fishing, scavenging and living a migratory type of life.

But from about 10,000 years ago, man was able to domesticate plants and animals and to live a sedentary life. This agricultural
revolution made possible a phenomenal growth of human population and set the stage for events in human history that led to civilization and economic development.
Man wanted many children for economic reasons. The big man or rich man was the man with many children who could cultivate big farms and grow richer. These men became chiefs, fons, emires, or Kings with overwhelming importance and power. In this urge to get material influence and power, many people resulted to polygamy and large families. Sexual intercourse was mainly for procreation and pregnancies were no problem at all because children were considered a gift from God. Hence more children meant more blessings.
All governments throughout history actively encouraged their population growth. The motivations varied from economic, defense and social security. Consequently they treated abortion, murder, manslaughter, and euthanasia as serious criminal offences, punishable in some cases with the death penalty.
In 1873 the U.S. Congress enacted the “Comstock Law”, which regulated public access to birth control devices, medicines or information, for the next 60 years. It was illegal to distribute any device (condom), medicine or information designed to prevent conception, this was applicable even to physicians.
The most notorious policies to boost birth rates and population growths were deployed by totalitarian regimes of far left and right. In Ceausescu’s Romania, the Marxist dictator instituted monthly pregnancy test to see if women were performing their patriotic duty, and they provided more subsidized housing to larger families.
Fascist regimes even went further as Mussolini introduced a tax on bachelors above a certain age.
In Nazi Germany the pro-birth program was highly motivated and information about contraception was suppressed and unmarried adults faced tax penalties.
Across the communist block pro-birth policies were applied.

Even democracies like the France of the 1920s, laws were introduced to limit the sale of contraceptives and payments were allocated to women who stayed at home (giving birth)
Europe like the rest of the world adopted the culture of life for Religious, Economic and Political reasons.
European culture and traditions were greatly influenced by the Christian Religion and laws and customs were based on the “sanctity of life”. Divorce was forbidden, adultery was an offence, abortion was an offence, contraceptives forbidden, homosexuality was an offence, suicide was forbidden, euthanasia was forbidden, Prostitution, bestiality, necrophilia, paedophilia, pornography and incest were forbidden by law.
Then secularism, materialism and realism crept in and things started falling apart.
The Industrial Revolution transformed Europe from an agrarian society into a predominantly manufacturing world. Industrialization, mechanization, science and technology, rendered manual labour less demanding and almost irrelevant in some cases.
But most of Africa South of the Sahara, for centuries was isolated and cut off from the technological, intellectual progress and cultural revolutions that were taking place in the whole world.

It was cut off from the civilizations of the Mediterranean and the Near East by the Sahara Desert. It was cut off by the Equatorial Nile. It was cut off by the oceans and it was cut off by the almost impenetrable tropical forest.
In its isolation Africa remained an AGRARIAN society and maintained the need for large families and many children. More so, many children died at infancy due to diseases and lack of medicine. Consequently, parents had many children on the assumption that some would survive to adulthood.
Fertility was an important part of life and the gods were often consulted when this was lacking, for more children meant more blessings from God.
Barrenness was considered a curse from God.

Hence the African love for many children developed and with it our culture of polygamy.
Isolated Africa did not come in contact with Christianity for centuries.
Christianity which had influenced European culture and laws did not come to Africa early enough to influence African traditions, cultures and laws. Consequently, polygamy, fornication, and promiscuity were not considered SINS, by African laws, customs and traditions.

The HIV/AIDS is spread mainly by sexual intercourse. Polygamy and the African love for many children, encourage Promiscuity, and promiscuity encourages the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Hence Africa South of the Sahara has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infections in the world about 76%.
Therefore to control the spread of AIDS in Africa south of the Sahara, Africa must change or modify some of its cultures and traditions. Those African countries South of the Sahara, which have embraced the Christian religion, and practiced Fidelity in monogamy and abstinence before marriage, as preached by the Christian Religion, have experienced a great reduction in their rate of the HIV/AIDS infection.

Cameroon: Politician Wants Prostitutes Arrested

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Albert Samba Ngwana, Chairman of Cardinal Democratic Party (CDP) of Cameroon, has urged the Cameroonian Government to arrest and prosecute all known prostitutes in the Country, insisting that they are criminals.
Angered by an interview granted to a local tabloid by a woman, presenting herself as President of Northwest Prostitutes, the CDP chair, has in a letter dated April 6,2009,addressed to the Governor of the Northwest Region of Cameroon, called for the immediate arrest of the chief Prostitute and co.

Below is the letter, read on:

The Governor,
N.W. Region,
Bamenda.
Cameroon,

Your Excellency Sir,

“PRESIDENT OF NW PROSTITUTES SAYS THEY EARN THRICE MORE THAN CIVIL SERVANTS”

The Star Newspaper of today Monday April 6, 2009 published a lengthy interview Ndi Ndi in Bamenda had with Ndongla Mairo, where she proclaimed herself as the President of Northwest Prostitutes. A union they started in 2006 with about 325 prostitutes.

Your Excellency, the whole Nation was shocked and scandalized by this revelation.
Prostitution is an offence punishable under section 343 of the Cameroon Penal Code. The punishment ranges from six months to five years imprisonment or a fine of 20,000 to 500,000 CFA.
We want you to instruct the department in charge of crimes to investigate and arrest the culprits at once and bring them to justice.

Cameroon is running down to chaos and immorality and this must stop.
In February this year the Wouri SDO took a bold step to clear the Douala Municipality of prostitutes, by rounding them up at night. We applauded his action and asked other SDOs to do same.

The N.W. Prostitutes have declared themselves through their president as practicing prostitution and should be arrested at once and tried according to the law.

Mr. Governor, we hope that you will act swiftly.

Yours faithfully,
Chief A.S. Ngwana,
National Chairman,
Cardinal Democratic Party.

Copy: SDO Bamenda
Government delegate Bamenda
Commissioner of Police Bamenda
Chief of National Security Bamenda

Boniface Nkobena’s Paradigm of Paul Biya: Governance by Intentions and Opposite Outcomes

By Tazoacha Asonganyi in Yaounde.

Nkobena Boniface Fontem recently launched a book of 175 pages titled, "Sarcedotal Politics and Systems Sustainability: The Paul Biya Paradigm". The book published by "Presses Universitaires de Yaoundé" and going for 10.000 FCFA a copy, is arranged in nine chapters as follows: Chapter one: The theoretical framework: contending approaches; Chapter two: Some historical insights: ideal type leaders; Chapter three: The task ahead: patterns of social deviancy; Chapter four: Policy goals: towards eradicating deviancy; Chapter five: Policy instruments and implementation; Chapter six: Policy outcome metrics; Chapter seven: Towards explanations; Chapter eight: Implications: findings and relevance; Chapter nine: Some perspectives: what ought to be done.
Science is part of a shared humanity. As a fraternity of enquiring minds, it has evolved into a universal language of hypothesis-testing and self-correction. This is probably why "to give a scientific content" to the book, the author provides a hypothesis for his "study" as follows: "that there is a strong causal relationship between leadership quality and systems sustainability; that sarcedotal politics is isomorphic with idealist precepts which are sine qua non for systems sustainability; that systems sustainability is a function of sarcedotal behaviour; and that systems sustainability is a function of leadership quality".

The scientific method does not allow the adoption of a sloppy methodology to test hypotheses in order to arrive at pre-determined answers to research questions.

The author sets the stage for the testing of his hypothesis, by reviewing some historical intellectual figures which he presents in the "idealist school" (John Locke, Rousseau, Bentham, Kant, Durkheim, Mill) or the "realist school" (Thucydide, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Richelieu). He also reviews the lives of some historic political figures "whose vocational life incarnates sarcedotal behaviour" (Mahatma Ghandi, Luther King, John Kennedy, de Gaulle, and Mandela).

In order to "test" his hypothesis, he uses what Stephen Covey would describe as "Character Ethics", and which the author describes as "ten qualities that characterise President Biya’s management style" (experience, patience, tolerance/dialogue spirit, discretion, humaneness, resourcefulness/rigour, liberal-mindedness, moral rectitude, legal-mindedness, foresightedness ... and the role of his spouse). There is no control group (or society) as such, but it can be assumed that the group of historic political figures cited above is his control group against which he measures his hero! Following the "testing" process, he places Paul Biya squarely in the idealist school, and in the same league with these political figures!

History teaches us that well-intentioned people are not a safeguard, as highlighted by the statement of John Steinbeck that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Good intentions have to always hinge on a social contract that binds society and allows good-intentions to be fulfilled. Another serious weakness of the book is that much of the testing process is based on the expression of good intentions, divorced from a strong social contract – strong institutions in a constitutional framework accepted by all. The author falls in the class of those who depend on the whims and caprices of "strongmen" rather than a strong institutional dispensation that protects the rights of individual citizens so that they can seek the good as they see fit.

Choices and actions must be rooted in social circumstances. Therefore it is foolhardy to invoke schools of thought and the choices and actions of historical political figures who acted within the ambit of strong institutions, to compare them with choices and actions in a society characterised by weak and repressed institutions. When there is little or no trust, good rhetoric and good intentions make no difference, since they cannot provide a foundation for permanent success.

Intellectuals are people who live in the world of ideas, books and writing. They hold up a mirror to those in authority, to allow permanent self-examination. They occupy the moral high ground, work for the good of society rather than the good of the few, live in truth and speak the truth to the prince/princess. Although some intellectuals are academics/experts, they should never be confused with the academics/experts that work for factions in society, live in half-truth, and tell the prince/princess what they want to hear.

Economists usually emphasise the outcome of choice; psychologists, the process of choice. Politicians should emphasise both. These are judged by a process of "legitimation", which, according to Jurgen Habermas, is an enquiry that considers whether one’s decisions enhance our social world and enrich our interactions with one another. The book under review is an effort at the legitimation of 26 years of Paul Biya at the helm of the Cameroon state by an academic/expert. The author exploits intentions expressed by Paul Biya and third parties, and describes the opposite outcomes of the intentions in the Cameroon society as the consequence of "political, economic, socio-cultural and administrative deviances" that he seems to consider to be independent of his hero’s will!

Faced with the "good intentions" he acclaims and the opposite outcomes he cannot ignore, the author states that "People hardly imagine what it would mean for a Head of State, an individual human being to personally go round every corner of the nation to track down defaulters; what it would mean for him to personally thrash every defaulter". He does not seem to know that the legendary politicians he cites in his book as his hero’s league mates, did not need to personally go round their countries to seek defaulters; decentralised, strong institutions lighted the torch in all corners of their societies!
Quoting Thucydide, the author says, "I have written not for immediate applause but for posterity, and shall be content if the future student of these events…finds my narrative of them useful".
Interestingly, although he talks about posterity and the future, he seems to view "sustainability" as a process in Paul Biya’s lifetime, even if the Brundtland Commission provided the world with the following definition of sustainable development: "development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
Politics being the key to development, and judging by the outcomes of Paul Biya’s choices in our society, I doubt that either this book or the legacy of Paul Biya would enjoy the sustainability claimed by the author.