Opposition Boycott Biya's Swearing -in as Cameroon's President

Following is a statement from the Peoples Action Party(PAP) ,whose presidential candidate Ayah Paul Abine,ranked 5th out of  the 23 candidates who raced for Cameroon's top job:

PAP’s  STANCE ON THE SWEARING-IN OF PAUL BIYA

PAP has insisted all in the last several days that the Yaounde Declaration is still an important option on the table. We wish to reiterate here that we do not propose to get to Etoudi over the spill of a single drop of blood of a Cameroonian. That is a cardinal value of PAP! Our non-appearance in the street on the day of the proclamation of the results of the October 9 presidential election in Cameroon was not a departure from the Yaounde Declaration; it was rather in keeping with our policy of non-violence. Given that Mr. Biya had called out the military armed to the teeth to shoot and kill, we duly reverted to that core value by calling on the members of PAP, our supporters and Cameroonians of good faith to suspend street actions and wait for further instructions at the propitious moment.

Having so conducted ourselves, it was but consistent that the national chairman of PAP and presidential candidate, Ayah Paul Abine, boycott the swearing-in of whoever is purportedly proclaimed to have won an election that never was. In our conviction, attendance would have been a real serious blunder as it would have been tantamount to endorsing fraud. The whole world saw that non-members of Parliament were provided sashes and they occupied the seats of parliamentarians of the opposition who boycotted the occasion. The massive electoral fraud we have decried ineffectually before a myopic world did conspicuously move from polling stations and commissions onto the floor of the House! Is any humble real believer there is who would identify himself with such flagrant misconduct, let alone those who receive the holy body of Christ from the pope’s own hand with alacrity? By the grace of God, diplomatic missions present were living witnesses! They may now wish to help the leaders of their various countries to revise their conclusions about the sham that took place on October 9!

PAP wishes to re-affirm here that, for their love of nation and peace, its national chairman shall instruct Cameroonians on the next line of action in the furtherance of the Yaounde Declaration in due course. Mr. Biya’s keeping of his word, if for once, to discuss with patriotic Cameroonians at home and abroad the way forward for setting up a veritable organ for organizing free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Cameroon shall be determinant in guiding our next line of action. Until then, the occasion of this day, November 3, 2011, in the National Assembly in our judgment is a nonevent for PAP, its supporters, and all reasonable and patriotic Cameroonians!

AYAH Paul ABINE,
National Chairman
PAP