Dr. Enow Abrams Egbe, chairperson of the electoral board of Elections Cameroon(ELECAM), addressed the press on Friday, October 17, 2025, in Yaoundé.
A few days after the presidential polls in Cameroon, the elections managing body, ELECAM, convened the media in a bid to conduct a general assessment of the electoral process.
Dr. Enow Abrams Egbe, the chairperson of the electoral board of Elections Cameroon, was speaking to media practitioners on Friday, October 17, 2025, at the head office of ELECAM in Yaounde.
In his address, the chairperson started by highlighting the key missions of ELECAM and its main role as an independent organ in assuring a smooth, peaceful, and transparent electoral process.
Read the release in full.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media profession,
Permit me, in my capacity as Chairperson of the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the independent body in charge of organising, managing, and supervising the entire electoral and referendum process in Cameroon, to open this formal press briefing, dedicated to reviewing the electoral process following the presidential election of 12 October 2025.
First of all, I would like to briefly review ELECAM’s mission and the independence of its members.
Our mission is clearly defined by electoral law, namely: ensure compliance with the electoral law by all stakeholders for the purpose of guaranteeing regular, impartial, free, fair, transparent 1 and credible polls.
Therefore, it is important to recall here that, pursuant to the provisions of Section 5 of the Electoral Code, Electoral Board Members of Elections Cameroon enjoy independence in the exercise of their duties.
In this regard, they do not receive instructions from any political or administrative authority. This independence constitutes the cornerstone of the credibility of the electoral process in our country, and, as you are no doubt aware, the 18 members who make up the Electoral Board come from the administration, political parties, and civil society.
With regard to state administrations, Section 43 (2) of the Electoral Code effectively stipulates that Government services shall collaborate with and support Elections Cameroon in the performance of its statutory duties. It is for this reason that, in the context of managing the electoral process, the administration is required to provide for security logistics solely for the purpose of protecting voters, candidates, electoral officials, observers, and electoral materials.
However, it is not only state administrations that collaborate with ELECAM. Section 11 (2) provides that the Electoral Board shall hold consultations with the Administration, the judiciary, political parties 2 and civil society within the framework of the management of the electoral process.
We have even involved the media. The aim of these consultations is to ensure that the electoral process runs smoothly and peacefully by ensuring synergy of action and preventing any misunderstandings or malfunctions.
This is what justified the recent holding of the 8th national consultation between ELECAM and other stakeholders in the electoral process at the Yaounde Conference Centre on 11 September 2025, before the presidential election.
At the end of this consultation, as you know, a code of good conduct was adopted by all stakeholders, which serves as a compass to guide the republican behaviour to be observed by all before, during, and after the election.
With regard to the election, vote counting, and proclamation of results, a rigorous process has been put in place by the legislature.
As you already know, a polling station is managed by a local polling commission. In addition to the ELECAM representative, the Local Polling Commission is composed of a chairperson appointed by Elections Cameroon, a representative of the administration, and a representative of each candidate.
It is responsible for conducting all election operations in the polling 3 station up to the counting of votes.
Vote counting takes place in each polling station immediately after the polls close, in the presence of voters and scrutineers, provided that the room can accommodate them without inconvenience.
The electoral law stipulates that at the close of polling, results must be proclaimed in the polling station.
The counting sheet is drawn up in as many copies as there are members plus 2 (two).
One copy of the report is given to each member of the local polling commission who is present and has signed it.
The original is forwarded by the local polling commission chairperson to the ELECAM Council Branch Head.
Another copy is forwarded to the Chairperson of the Divisional Supervisory Commission. In the case of this presidential election, which had 12 candidates, 16 copies of the election return report were drawn up in each polling station.
After the vote counting has been completed, the local polling commission must forward the counting sheets to the Divisional Supervisory Commission no later than 48 hours after the polls have closed.
For the presidential election on 12 October 2025, the 31,653 local polling stations effectively ensured the regularity of the election and submitted their reports to the various Divisional Supervisory 4 Commissions on Tuesday, 14 October 2025, within the 48-hour deadline set by law.
The Divisional Supervisory Commission, chaired by the president of the High Court, comprises 3 (three) representatives of the administration, 3 (three) representatives of Elections Cameroon, and 1 (one) representative of each candidate.
It centralises and checks returning operations carried out by Local Polling Commissions and documents relating thereto. It has a maximum of 72 hours to forward the report of its work to the National Commission for the Final Counting of Votes.
Since 16 October 2025, all election return reports of the proceedings of the 58 divisional supervisory commissions from across the country and the 108 local diaspora polling commissions have been forwarded to the National Commission for the Final Counting of Votes, in accordance with the law.
Finally, the National Commission for the Final Counting of Votes, chaired by a member of the Constitutional Council, also includes 2 (two) magistrates appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 5 (five) representatives of the administration, 5 (five) representatives of ELECAM, and 1 (one) representative of each candidate. Its composition is established by a resolution of 5 the Electoral Board.
It carries out the final counting of votes on the basis of reports submitted by the 58 Divisional Supervisory Commissions and the diaspora polling commissions.
The report of its work is submitted to the Constitutional Council within a maximum of 5 (five) days. As I communicate to you, the work of this commission has begun today at the headquarters of the Constitutional Council.
The Constitutional Council proclaims the election results within a maximum of 15 days from the close of polling.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, at all these stages, inclusion, traceability, transparency, and scrupulous compliance with legal procedures are guaranteed in accordance with the law.
At this stage of the proceedings, I do not have access to the statistics that are currently being analysed by the relevant commissions and which may be made available to the public once the results have been proclaimed by the Constitutional Council. III.
Before concluding, permit me to call on our fellow citizens to be vigilant against acts of disinformation, manipulation of public opinion, and hate speech during this election period.
Ladies and gentlemen, the presidential election of 12 October 2025 took place in a climate of relative calm, democratic maturity, and civic responsibility.
We would like to thank all the stakeholders who contributed to this exemplary process. Elections Cameroon remains faithful to its mission to guarantee the integrity of the electoral process and to work towards the consolidation of democracy in our country.
Thank you for your kind attention.
