Preparations have already started at the level of the Directorate General of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, to get ready the material to be used in the April 14, 2013 election of Senators. The Director General of Elections, Mohaman Sani Tanimou, in a decision on March 4, 2013 published the modalities for the conduct of the election with details on preliminaries to polling operations, procedure for the conduct of polling operations and procedure for vote counting.

The Head of the Communication and Public Relations Division of ELECAM, Marie Rose Nzie née Mezanga told Cameroon Tribune in Yaounde yesterday that some of the material like counting sheets, election returns sheets, abstract of the Electoral Code relating to the election of Senators to be deposited in polling stations are being printed. The ballot boxes she said, were already on the field. The printing of electoral cards will only be done from the coming week when the final list of electors must have been published. The provisional lists are however, put up in ELECAM Council and Divisional Branch Offices since Monday, March 4, for consultation and possible corrections. The electors who are councilors have up to March 8, 2013 to consult the lists after which the Directorate General of Elections will publish the final electoral register latest March 14 as they must be published 30 days before the polling day. The Head of the Communication and Publish Relations Division of ELECAM said ballot boxes for the election were already on the field. Other material will be prepared as polling day approaches. The preparation of the material is indeed in stages with a preliminary phase and the second phase that will come after the publication of the final list of electors.

Measures have also been taken from the Directorate General to the Divisional Branches of ELECAM to receive nomination papers of the list of seven substantive candidates and their alternates per Region from political parties willing to take part in the April 14, election of Senators. The Electoral Code states that the nomination papers must be submitted at ELECAM Divisional Branch Offices or Directorate General of Elections at least 15 days from the day of the convening of the Electoral College. This means that the nomination papers must be submitted latest March 14, 2013.