Candidacy Litigations : Democracy Prevailed In Ruling

For two days (August 4-5), all eyes were turned to the Constitutional Council which had 35 petitions to examine. After deliberations, decisions were taken by the judicial institution with regards to complaints filled. At the close of the phase on pre-electoral disputes, some lessons can be drawn from the process, notably that democracy and the rule of law prevailed. 
In the course of the public court session, the Constitutional Council listened to all parties involved in the petition before giving a ruling which is based on existing legal dispositions. The Court requested the legal counsel of the candidates petitioning, political parties, Elections Cameroon or the Ministry of Territorial Administration involved in the pre-electoral litigations to present supporting documents to buttress their points. However, Section 134 of the Electoral Code states that the Constitutional Council may, without prior adversarial hearing, issue a reasoned decision to reject any petition it considers inadmissible or to be based solely on objections which cannot influence the outcome of the election. This was however not the case as the Constitutional Council gave every party the opportunity to express itself and at length. Even those whose petitions had nothing to do with the electoral process were heard before the Court’s rejection. There were no unruly interruptions nor bullying and no derogatory language. 
With regards to internal wrangling in political parties, as was the case with MANIDEM, UPC and MPCN that had multiple candidatures for the October Presidential election, the decision of the Court was clear; it is not its duty to dictate order in their internal affairs. It should be noted that more than one candidacy from the same political party during an election, whether Presidential, Senatorial or legislative consists an element of disqualification. 
The candidacy of Hilaire Marcaire Dzipan of the Progres...