Circular No./CPDM/NP on the nomination procedures Of CPDM candidates For the municipal elections of February 9th, 2020

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THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT

TO 

• Mr Secretary General of the Central Committee;
• Heads of the Pre-selection and Nomination Commissions;
• All CPDM militants.

Municipal elections scheduled for February  9^th, 2020 should be a milestone in the implementation of decentralization. As a matter of fact, municipal councillors who would be voted during these elections shall be charged with the responsibilities to introduce fresh impetus to local governance and encourage the various municipalities in local development performance, building harmonious living together, consolidating lasting peace and national unity.  With this setup that makes a municipality the most significant level in national governance, power will be exercised closest to the people.

Naturally, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement will participate fully in the elections, not only to guarantee its success but also to be the winner, in order to maintain control over the municipal councils thereby allowing the smooth and efficient implementation of decentralization.

In order to ensure this, the Party will have to present the right candidates, that is:

• committed, trustworthy, loyal and disciplined militants who are more concerned with local development as well as the Party’s interests than with their personal success; 
• women, youths and men who can bring together, persuade and are passionate, with a good knowledge of the locality, capable of influencing and likely to mobilize the required resources for the CPDM’s victory;
• competent and constructive comrades, able to support local democracy and the development of municipalities in an effort to continually improve the living conditions of the people. 

In concrete terms, the nomination of CPDM candidates for the upcoming municipal elections, which is the Central Committee’s responsibility, under the provisions of Article 23 of the Party Constitution, will be carried out in conjunction with the grassroots, through the various Party structures reconfigured for the occasion, especially the CPDM Section Conferences and the Central Committee Regional and Divisional Permanent Delegations.

 In order to achieve the degree of efficiency desired, the  nomination procedure of the Party’s candidates for the municipal elections must be strictly, efficiently and objectively carried out  in the spirit of discipline, with a focus on joint action, dialogue and consensus-building, which are the main reflections of the spirit of openness, tolerance and political maturity that foster living together.

1. ORGANISATION OF THE NOMINATION

The nomination procedures of candidates for the election of municipal councillors shall be carried out by various Committees organized around the Party structures as follows:

1. AT THE PARTY’s HEADQUARTER
2. The Central Nomination Committee

Placed under the National President and organized within the Secretariat General of the Central Committee, the Central Nomination Committee shall be responsible for:

• the supervision of the nomination procedures throughout the national territory;
• the nomination of the Party’s candidate;
• the Party’s ad hoc communication strategy;
• electoral dispute.

The Central Nomination Committee shall be composed as follows:

• President:
• the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Vice-Presidents:
• the Vice-President of the Central Committee;
• the Assistant Secretary General of the Central Committee ;
• the President of the WCPDM National Executive.
• Members:
• Secretaries at the Secretariat General of the Central Committee;
• the Vice-President of the YCPDM National Executive;
• Former Secretaries General of the Central Committee.
• Rapporteurs:
• Advisers to the Secretariat General of the Central Committee.

In order to carry out its functions, the Central Nomination Committee shall comprise of:

• a Technical Secretariat ;
• a Sub-Committee for Logistics;
• a Sub-Committee for Communication;
• a Sub-Committee for Electoral dispute.

A Note from the Secretary General of the Central Committee shall organize the structures attached to the Central Nomination Committee and shall appoint its members.

• ON THE FIELD
• The Regional Supervisory Committee

Constituted around the Central Committee Regional Permanent Delegation and installed in the Regional Headquarters, the Regional Supervisory Committee shall be responsible for:

• the supervision of the nomination procedure at the regional level;
• the reception and examination of the lists of candidates sent by the Divisional Control Committees;
• the verification of candidature files; 
• the transmission to the Central Nomination Committee of:
• copies of the lists of candidates proposed for nomination;
• the Regional Supervisory Committee’s minutes signed by the President of the Committee and the Rapporteurs;
• the submission of the listed CPDM candidates’ files of the Region with the local branches of ELECAM, following a formal approval of the Secretary General of the Central Committee, President of the Central Nomination Committee;
• the follow-up of electoral dispute at the regional level, in liaison with the Sub-Committee for Electoral dispute of the Central Nomination Committee.

The Regional Supervisory Committee shall be composed as follows:

• President :
• the Head of the Central Committee Regional Permanent Delegation or a personality appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Vice-Presidents :
• Personalities appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Members :
• Members of the Central Committee Regional Permanent Delegation;
• Personalities appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Rapporteurs :
• Chargés de mission of the Central Committee Regional Permanent Delegation;
• Militants appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.

• The Divisional Control Committee

Constituted around the Central Committee Divisional Permanent Delegation and installed in the Divisional Headquarter, the Divisional Control Committee shall be responsible for:

• the monitoring of pre-selection procedures at the Divisional level;
• compliance control of the pre-selection procedures of candidate with the provisions of this circular;
• the inspection of candidates’ official documents sent by the Municipal Pre-selection Committee;
• the transmission to the Regional Supervisory Committee of;
• the consensual lists of candidates;
• the verified files of candidates together with the summarised list of the documents;
• the minutes of the Divisional Control Committee’s activities, signed by the President of the Committee and the Rapporteurs;

The Divisional Control Committee shall be composed as follows:

• President:
• the Head of the Central Committee Divisional Permanent Delegation or a personality appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Vice-President:
• Personalities appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Members:
• Members of the Central Committee Divisional Permanent;
• Personalities appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
•  Rapporteurs:
• Chargés de missions of the Central Committee Divisional Permanent Delegation;
• Militants appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• The Municipal Pre-selection Committee

Constituted from the CPDM Section Conference and installed in each municipality, the Municipal Pre-selectionCommitteeshall be responsible for:

• the tasks to provide information to militants on the organization of nominations and on the eligibility criteria of candidates for municipal elections;
• the examination of individual candidates in accordance with the criteria defined by law and the party;
• the analysis and validation of candidates’ individual and collective documents;
• the preparation of the consensual list in accordance with the requirements set out in this circular;
• the transmission to the Divisional Control Committee of:
• the consensual list of candidates;
• the candidates’ official documents;
• the minutes of the Municipal Pre-selection Committee’s activities signed by the President of the Committee and the Rapporteurs.

The Municipal Pre-selection Committee shall be composed of the following:

• President:
• the President of the CPDM section executive of the jurisdiction or a personality appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Vice-Presidents:
• Central Committee members of the jurisdiction;
• Members of the WCPDM and YCPDM National Executive of the jurisdiction;
• Personalities appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.
• Members:
• Presidents of the WCPDM and YCPDM Sections Executive of the jurisdiction;
• Members of the CPDM, WCPDM and YCPDM Sections Executive of the jurisdiction;
• Presidents of the CPDM, WCPDM and YCPDM Sub-sections Executives who were elected based on the approved political foundation when renewing Basic organ Executives in 2015;
• Fifteen representatives amongst the Presidents of the executive branches (that is five CPDMs, five WCPDMs and five YCPDMs) appointed by their peers;
• 3^rd Class Traditional Chiefs of the Municipality who are militants.
• Rapporteurs :
• Militants appointed by the Secretary General of the Central Committee.

1. CANDIDATURES
2. Selection Criteria

Militants who wish to be nominated by the Party for the election of municipal councillors must meet the following requirements:

1. Conditions provided for by the law:
2. be a Cameroonian by nationality;
3. be twenty-three (23) years old on the date of the election;
4. be able to read and write English or French;
5. be of good moral character;
6. be in good standing with the tax authorities;
7. reside or show prove of origin in the municipality.
8. Conditions required for by the Party:
9. be up to date with at least their contributions for the period since the last municipal elections in 2013;
10. have not been subject to any disciplinary sanction since the last municipal elections in 2013;
11. show proof of fidelity and loyalty to the party;
12. show proof of a recognized militant commitment in the municipality;
13. have a good knowledge of the municipality.
14. Required documents

Each candidate shall produce two files as follows:

1. Official Copies:

It shall comprise of the following ten (10) documents as required by the Electoral Code: 

• five (5) copies of the nomination paper bearing the candidates’ authenticated signatures;
• a copy of the candidate’s birth certificate not more than three (3) months old;
• a certificate of nationality;
• a criminal record (bulletin no 3), not more than three (3) months old;
• a declaration by which the candidate testifies, on his honour, that his name appears only on that list and that he is not the object of any of the disqualifications provided by the electoral law;
• a tax certificate or a tax exemption certificate;
• an attestation of  registration on electoral registers;
• an attestation of abode or residence in the council concerned,  issued by the competent  administrative authority;
• the original receipt of payment of deposit of fifty thousand (50,000) CFA F;
• an attestation by which the CPDM sponsors the candidate.

• The Party’s internal document:

It shall comprise of the following Seven (7) documents as required by the Party:

• a nomination request issued by the General Secretariat of the Central Committee and duly signed by the candidates;
• a photocopy of the membership card;
• proof of contributions since 2013;
• proof of services rendered to the party in the municipality;
• a disciplinary certificate issued by the President of the CPDM Section;
• a statement on oath stating that you are only a candidate for the municipal election;
• a statement on oath in compliance with the decisions of the Pre-selection and Nomination Committees.

1. MISCELLANEOUS AND FINAL PROVISIONS

• Beyond the general eligibility requirements, the lists of candidates shall take into account:
• the ideals of national unity and integration;
• the distribution of the existing municipal councillors seats in the municipality;
• the different sociological groups in the municipality;
• women and youths;
• minority groups.
• The minutes of the various Committees shall include all the documents provided by the candidates.
• Participation in a Committee shall be incompatible with the candidate’s status of in municipal elections.
• Militants, who have faced disciplinary sanctions since the last municipal elections, particularly during the activities of the Ad Hoc Disciplinary Committee on 5 December 2015, shall not be nominated by Party.
• Candidates and members of the Pre-selection and Nomination Committees shall ensure that the documents required by law, bear the signatures the competent authorities.
• With regards to the demographic and sociological developments of our country, we are requested to encourage the emergence of new figures and favour the spirit of sharing.

A Note from the Secretary General of the Central Committee sets out the procedures for implementing the provisions of this Circular. /-

                                                                      Yaounde, …………

                                                                                THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT,

                                                                              PAUL BIYA