“Imposed democracy and “competitive authoritarian regime” in Cameroon: Failure of an international contemporary practice.”

“This concept has been developed to contribute to a theory of political democracy. In
this theory, the public sphere is conceived as a space for the production of public opinion and in forms that are supposed to ensure political validity. The public sphere is the vehicle for the mobilization of public opinion acting as political forces. It strengthens citizens by giving them a space of expression and the possibility of intervening against institutional and private powers.
 
This public sphere is supposed to correspond to a sovereign power. (
M‟PEP
, 2008) Such forum whic
h according to Habermas is a “virtual space where the citizens of a country exchange ideas and discuss issues, in order to reach agreement about 'matters of general interest”
(HABERMAS 1962), is of great relevance in Cameroon, and seems one of the greatest challenges that the Country has to face and address, if it wants really to fight the current political system characterized by the total control of the President of the Republic over everybody and everything.
 
17
Conclusion
To conclude, we can say that the instauration of democracy happened in Cameroon through a neocolonial system that did not allow any previous preparation. Faced with that situation, and determined to keep their power and their authority, the regime accepted
“free elections”, but put
in place mechanisms to counter the will of the population manifested through votes. In the first place, we can mention the creation of problematic elections government bodies, not able to organize fair elections. Secondly, we can mention the practices of the investiture inside the political parties; here, the political leaders are the ones to choose the possible candidates to stand for local and national elections. Thirdly, we have the creation of the position of Government delega
te at the head of important cities; these “super mayors” are the real holder of the municipal
authority of the cities, and are unfortunately out of the control on the populations, since they are not voted, with a limited mandates, but instead appointed by presidential decrees, and the maintenance in power through the equilibrium of power imposed by the current situation of generalized embezzlement and corruption. This situation has led to a certain discouragement and political apathy as far participating in local elections is concerned, and favored the establishment of a competitive authoritarian regime, blocking in the same way the paths to the full democratization of the Country. To solve this situation, a more acceptable elections government body has to be put in place, followed by a thorough political formation of both the populations and the leaders, and finally a well-structured public sphere has to be created, so as to stand as an opposition force, against a regime that has succeeded in destroying the influence of all the opposition parties.
 
18
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