Electoral Governance and the Consolidation of Democracy in Cameroon: Trajectories and Patterns

Abstract

Electoral governance often goes hand in hand with expectations of democratic health improvements. The effectiveness of electoral governance as the cornerstone of democratic consolidation in Cameroon depends largely, but not exclusively, on three interrelated developments: the establishment of an independent electoral body, setting of a unique electoral Code and the establishment of the Constitutional Council. The paper reviews Cameroon's electoral governance framework from the perspective of their impacts on the consolidation of the country's democracy. Patterns of electoral governance in Cameroon are based on the rules that institutionalise elections, the quality of electoral management body, and the settlement of electoral disputes. The results of the study indicate that electoral governance in Cameroon is in accordance with the principles of democratic performance as it is implemented in all three major stages of electoral arrangements: pre-election, election proper and post-election. Amongst other things, it finds that electoral governance in Cameroon is inclusive in nature as it engages many categories of actors and stages (political parties, election observers, a multi-stage electoral process together with administrative and judicial stakeholders) in a general framework of functional interdependence rather than interference.