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YAOUNDE. — The Cameroon Constitutional Council on Tuesday overruled 16 out of 18 petitions demanding the partial and total annulment of the October 7 presidential poll in the country.

Lawyers of Cabral Libii, opposition candidate of Univers party, argued that the election should be totally nullified because it was “neither free, fair nor transparent”.

Justice Clement Atangana, president of the Constitutional Council, dismissed the case on grounds that the “petition was not submitted on time” and the arguments “have no legal backing and sufficient proofs”.

The Council also overruled the petition of Maurice Kamto, opposition candidate of Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM), questioning the competence and impartiality of six members of the Constitutional Council.

“Only the President of the Republic who appoints members of the Council has the jurisdiction to sack or question the neutrality of the Council members,” Atangana said, “so the petition is inadmissible.”

Other petitions were filed by Bertin Kisob, president of Social Justice party, and Rigobert Aminou Gabanmidanha, a voter.

They demanded complete cancellation of the vote, citing “irregularities, disregard of electoral code and rigging” they observed during the poll.

Quoting the Electoral Code, Atangana said their petitions were “inadmissible” because the Council rules only on petitions filed by candidates, political parties which took part in the election or any person serving as a representative of the administration for the election.

“You were not a candidate. You were not a representative of the administration for the election. Therefore, you have no quality to petition the Council,” Atangana said, dismissing the petitions as “null and void”.

The hearings unfolded for over 10 hours in the capital Yaounde’s Conference Centre where police tightened security, as Xinhua reporter witnessed. The deliberations were adjourned to Wednesday during which the Council will hear the petition of Joshua Osih from the leading opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) calling for the total nullification of the election.

It will also pass judgment on another petition by Maurice Kamto demanding the annulment of the vote in seven out of 10 regions of the country.

According to the Electoral Code, the decision of the Constitutional Council is final, and the final results of the election are expected to be declared by the Council by October 22. – Xinhua