Of the 70 candidates nominated by the CPDM for the 12 March senatorial elections, 28 are women, handpicked from all walks of life and emblematic in their various spheres of competence.
They are entrepreneurs, opinion leaders, state workers, pharmacists, educators and astute mobilisers. These amongst others are the profiles of the women that the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement nominated as candidates for this senatorial election. They are as emblematic as they are valiant in their diverse fields of competence, standing out as those who do not believe that their abilities are set in stone.
In all, they are 55 in number with 28 being substantive and 27 alternate candidates, chosen by the Party to represent it at the Upper house of parliament for the 2023/2028 mandate. Regarding substantive candidates, statistics indicate that while the Adamawa, East, Far North, Littoral, North, North West, South and West Regions have 3 women each, the Centre and South West regions have two women in their respective lists.
In the Adamawa region Rougayatou Asta Djoulde one of the three female candidates is an administrative worker, while Zoubainatou Salihou is a court registrar. In the Centre region, Koungou Eliane who is member of the WCPDM National Bureau, is also a seasoned journalist. Over in the East region while Begala Mikel Naomie excels as a diplomat, Adare Gassawilly Mireille for her part is a teacher. Armande Dine Bell is one of the two women list leaders, and who together with Yinda Yvette, WCPDM National Bureau member ably represent the Littoral region. In the North, Asta Yvonne who is a retired nurse will work alongside Didjatou Oumarou, a council worker and Salamatou Moussa who is a trader. In the North West, Emma Eno Lafon, CPDM list leader is a retired teacher who alongside Neba Brigitte Ndosiri – university Professor and Fointama Hilda Aluma who is also a teacher. Samou Micheline and Puene Françoise are two business women chosen in the West region with the former being a trained pharmacist. In the South region, Nbgwa Balla Yvette is a retired corporate worker while Ntube Agnes in the South West region is a renowned economic operator.
The number of women is telling of the strides the CPDM is making to bring more women not only into politics but around decision making tables. The CPDM is the only party that has increasingly recognized the untapped capacity and talents of women and whose political participation results in tangible gains for democracy. The wish is that of the 30 candidates that have to be appointed by the President of the Republic, one third should be women in order to bring the total number of female senators to 38.
Claudette CHIN
