The Media and the Administration of Elections in Cameroon

Abstract

One of the critical ways to determine the degree of democracy in a country is to see how free its press is. However, it is not only about seeing how the press is free but also how well it is participating in the political process, including the administration of elections. This paper argues that in Cameroon, the political liberalism of the early 1990s was associated with the emergence and proliferation of press freedoms. This 'new' media has been involved in the administration of elections in two fundamental ways: political communication and political socialization. The mass media in Cameroon has contributed to providing Cameroonians with political facts, raising public awareness and, to some extent, keeping the government responsive to demands for electoral reforms. The print newspaper, TV, and radio combined have emerged as prominent political communication and political socialization forces in the political landscape. However, they have not really operated without partisan tendencies. They continue to grapple with some challenges, which are mostly connected with door-to-door, face-to-face, limited/disproportionate outreach and coverage, government control of media and social media.