PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AS PARTICIPATION IN THE CONDUCT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS OF A COUNTRY: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE OPERATIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF ELECTIONS CAMEROON (ELECAM) AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL

Abstract

International and regional human rights instruments recognise the right to participate in the conduct of public affairs: this political right intersects with other political rights, such as the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, the right to freedom of association, and the right to freedom of movement. Arguably, periodic, free, and fair presidential elections are only one dimension of exercising the right to participate in the conduct of public affairs. In the context of Cameroon, and in view of the recently concluded presidential elections of October 2025, this paper examines two specific and relevant structures: Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) and the Constitutional Council. With a mandate to, among other things, manage presidential elections, their composition and operational independence raise disturbing concerns in a country where a lack of trust in political and legal structures, political corruption, and a history of election fraud have been deeply integrated into the political ecosystem and legal fabric, making it difficult for the broader Cameroonian citizenry to use the ballot box (or elections) as a means of participating in the conduct of public affairs. Using a qualitative, evidence-based approach, the paper argues that systemic structures make realising the right to participate in public affairs challenging.