Cameroon :: Me Charles Tchoungang Criticizes the Ban on Coalitions :: Cameroon
The former president of the Cameroon Bar Association, Me Charles Tchoungang, protested against the ban on coalitions by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji.
Describing this decision as “useless legalism“, Me Tchoungang insisted that it constitutes a flagrant violation of freedom of assembly, a fundamental right guaranteed by the Cameroonian Constitution.
The former president recalled that political party leaders can meet privately, as friends, without any restrictions. If they want to meet in public, the host of the meeting only needs to make a statement, he said.
Me Tchoungang is not the only one to have taken offense at this repressive measure. The Cameroonian opposition and civil society unanimously condemn it, seeing it as an attempt by the government to muzzle any dissenting voice.
The government, for its part, justifies this ban by the need to prevent disturbances to public order.
However, this justification is far from convincing, especially since Cameroon is going through a period of political tensions exacerbated by the contestation of the re-election of President Paul Biya.
The ban on coalitions is a new illustration of the decline of democracy in Cameroon.
It is urgent that the government reverses this decision and respects the fundamental rights of Cameroonian citizens, concluded Me Tchoungang.
