Tchiroma Defends PVs from Polling Units, Says Figures Are Not Fabricated

Cameroon’s main opposition presidential candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who has claimed victory in the October 12 presidential election, insists that the results released by his team are authentic.

According to him, the team is simply compiling figures received from results sheets signed by all stakeholders at the polling units. He stated that they have scanned and uploaded the original documents online.

He issued this clarification to address concerns about observed discrepancies, asserting that any inconsistencies are the fault of ELECAM from the polls.

“The documents we post online are not invented ‘summaries.’ They are scans or photos of the original PVs as they were prepared and given to representatives at the polling stations,” he said. “The summaries we publish are strictly the result of adding the figures entered on these PVs. The original PV for each department is available via the Google Drive link provided in each post. We encourage everyone to verify this for themselves.”

On Sunday, he uploaded the results for the Moungo, Wouri, and Vina Divisions, adding that he will eventually upload results from all 18 divisions, which represent 80 percent of the electorate.

However, he accused some online platforms of trying to discredit their figures without providing what they claim to be the authentic ones.

“Our role is to faithfully transcribe what appears ON THE REPORT: the number of registered voters, invalid ballots, and votes awarded to each candidate. We add the numbers as they are written,” he explained. “We don’t apply any formulas that would alter these figures. If a report shows 100 votes when 80 people were registered, we publish 100—because that’s what it says on the document. Hiding or correcting these anomalies would be playing the same game as those who manipulate the results.”

The national vote-counting commission has finished its tally and is expected to transmit it to the Constitutional Council today.

During the counting over the weekend, representatives of the candidate, Issa Tchiroma, left the counting room. In an interview with MMI’s Road to Etoudi, senior journalist Sone Bayen stated that the commission was not there to alter anything. He reported speaking to Tchiroma’s representative, who said nothing concrete was expected to come from the commission.

The election was marred by widespread fraud, allegedly orchestrated by some ELECAM officials and a political party.

“These inconsistencies stem from irregularities committed before or during the count: ballot box stuffing, people voting multiple times, minutes amended after the fact, or deliberate errors,” Tchiroma said. “For example, if a polling station has 80 registered voters but stuffing resulted in 100 ballots being counted, the vote-to-registered ratio could reach 100%. This is not an ‘error on our part’; it is the result of a malfunction or fraud that becomes apparent when the original minutes are displayed.”

The Constitutional Council is expected to hear petitions before declaring the winner of the election.

MMI News