During their Section Conference in Tombel, militants of Kupe Muanenguba III, South West region resolved to block out dissident voices and remain committed to the CPDM and the National President Paul Biya.
The significant gathering underscored the determination of grassroots authorities to strategize on crucial matters ahead of the 2025 presidential elections. The conference, attended by party stalwarts and grassroots members, focused on reinforcing Subsection Executives, reviewing the voter registration exercise, and planning a grand celebration for President Paul Biya›s upcoming anniversary in power on November 6.
From the reports presented by the subsection presidents, it was observed that not all had held their meetings as per the Party’s Texts. But according to the Section President, Mbulle Valentine, “the reports presented by subsections that had held their statutory meetings were quite satisfactory. Some of them raised concerns that made us detect their fear of serving the party in their capacities as executive members given the security challenges still existent in the North West and South West regions. This made us write to the administrative authorities to make them understand that despite the relative peace, militants in some areas were still gripped by fear and so we suggested the creation of vigilante groups to up security” Mbulle Valentine said.
Regarding voter registration, the Section’s Executive highlighted that the outcome at the close of the exercise in August was quite satisfactory, having worked in close collaboration with Elecam from January to August to register voters. The target as prescribed by the Central Committee was first and foremost for CPDM militants, ensuring that all key actors, executive of the three wings at the top and the base were registered. Mbulle Valentine added that “our findings made us realize that 95 percent of the total number of executives are registered. We made a special programme that took us to areas that regrouped different subsections like in Nkinchide and Ngombo which had at least three to four chiefdoms, to encourage militants and the rest of the population to register. Development goes where there are people and so we need our people to have their names on voters’ rolls.” The lack of birth certificates and ID cards, remoteness of some villages thereby hindering access by Elecam agents were raised as a major setbacks to registering many people. These difficulties have spurred the local authorities to strategise ahead of next year when the exercise will be relaunched. To reinforce the subsection executive members, measures to safeguard the security of those gripped by fear and replace deceased ones were taken. “One of the resolutions arrived at is write to our Party hierarchy through the Permanent Divisional Delegation headed by Prof. Elvis Ngolle Ngolle to inform them of our actions on the field and seek advice on the way forward”.
As the CPDM gears up for elections next year, mobilizing its militants and staying alert to the ploys of the opposition amidst security challenges is a multifaceted endeavour the local executive is ready for, positioning itself to navigate the political waters with renewed vigor and determination.
Claudette CHIN
