Biya Planning Early Elections for 2017 , looking sick and frail

President Biya, looking sick and frail

Cameroon Journal, Yaounde – An insider within the central bureau of the CPDM and a Presidential source who would not want to be named have confided to The Cameroon Journal that President Biya and close collaborators in the Presidency are consulting within his CPDM hierarchy to call early Presidential elections in 2017 instead of 2018.

Our sources said the deliberations have been ongoing for quite some time now. But strategy since
intensified after the visit of Francois Hollande, French President, last month.
The Journal gathered that what is propelling Biya towards calling early elections are two things –  his health and age. However, they plan on fronting a different justification for the early election – Boko Haram.
Seeing the threat that Boko Haram poses to the country; “They plan to sell Biya to the people as the one and only person who can defeat Boko Haram.” Our source said. The regime will advance an explanation to the effect that waiting till 2018 is going to distract the president from concentrating on the war – thus the need for an early election.
“Using Boko Haram is the means to the end. Biya is increasingly looking frail, his health is quickly failing, waiting till 2018 they say may not contend well for his health and age. It may impede his ability to effectively campaign. They don’t want to take chances,” our source said.
The Journal learned that the strategy is to present Biya as a fighter, and the only  formidable defender of the country against Boko Haram, that waiting till 2018 for elections will take off the President’s focus from the Boko Haram war.
The scheme, our sources said, is planned to have CPDM elites make rounds beginning early 2016 on the media and hold regional rallies round the country culminating in motions to the Presidency calling for Biya to call early elections. The strategy is such that the international community is placated to believe that it is the people of Cameroon, not Biya who want early elections. The CPDM Central Committee will then deliberate on the motions, endorse them and forward to Biya who will pretentiously acting upon the ‘will of the people’ formerly summon early elections.
Our sources explained that the underlining wisdom behind the whole idea is to ensure that Biya, by 2018 is thinking of a successor rather than an election.
It should be noted that the Cameroonian leader is one of the longest serving head of states in Africa and he is already passed 84 years of age. It is widely speculated that he plans to stay in power till death or failing which, pass it over to his son or wife, Chantal Biya. Should Biya live that long enough, will be close, if not over 90 years by the time a 2018 mandate ends.
This month, the CPDM party to which Biya is Chairman, began reorganization of its national and international organs. The party has also of late been courting some opposition parties into its camp. Perhaps they are the tell-tale signs of the grand plan towards 2017.
The Journal reported this week that the CPDM paid Albert Dzongang, leader of La Dynamique opposition party an undisclosed huge amount of money to buy him and his political organization over to join the UNDP, CPDM alliance.