A proximity campaign is underway to meet potential voters wherever they may be found. The elections management body, ELECAM, is changing its strategies in voter registration and adapting to attitudes of potential voters.

Last Monday, March 7, 2016 in the early afternoon, several voter registration posts could be seen planted at the entrances of several off-licences in the Yaounde III district. Around the Efoulan Pont neighbourhood, teams deployed were seen successfully convincing some yet unregistered beer parlour diehards to leave their bottles for a second and do registration formalities such as the photograph, fingerprints and filling of the form in exchange for their voter’s card receipt. “This is what we have been expecting from ELECAM because it is very difficult for us to go towards them. When they come towards us in this way, things get done easier,” said Philippe N., an electricity company agent.

According to one of ELECAM’s Yaounde III branch staff monitoring the operation, Joseph Bertrand Mboa, ELECAM has resorted to the proximity strategy which also includes chiefs’ palaces and popular streetside “Call boxes” because previous media and outdoor advertising campaigns had not produced desired results in spurring the enthusiasm. But with the new rate of registration, he felt confident that Yaounde III which has the second voter registration potential after Yaounde IV in the Mfoundi Division of the Centre Region, will register voters more than ever. “We even have a good number of young volunteers acting as guides and leading us into neighbourhoods where more potential voters are met.

Meanwhile, ELECAM successfully organised a 20-day nationwide campaign in February to register 20,000 new youth voters but ended up with 27,000. Another one-month campaign was launched on March 1, 2016 within the framework of the commemoration of the 31st International Women’s Day to register 30,000 women. Results are still awaiting.