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Americans Share Midterm Election Enthusiasm

Chargé d’Affaires Richard Nelson opens the Pre-Election Watch session. Full size.

To enhance local audiences’ understanding of U.S. midterm elections, U.S. Embassy –Yaounde organized a two-part interactive program on November 6 and 8, 2006.  During the Pre-Election Watch, a team of Embassy officials introduced participants to the issues at stake in these elections and provided some clues for understanding the U.S. electoral process. The Post-Election Wrap-Up focused on the results and their impact on domestic issues in the U.S. as well as on the international political scene. The program also enabled the audience, which included high-level government officials, political leaders, journalists, university lecturers and members of the National Assembly, to draw some parallels between the American and Cameroonian democratic systems. The program not only provided very useful information on U.S. election processes and procedures but also sparked interesting discussions on upcoming 2007 legislative and municipal elections in Cameroon. As Chargé d’Affaires Richard Nelson said in opening Day 1 of the two-part election program, “Whether it is the elections in the United States, in 2008, or those in Cameroon, in 2007 and 2011, transparency, an independent electoral body and accountability of elected public officials vis-à-vis their voting publics are the underpinnings of free and fair elections. For the U.S. presidential elections of 2008, the countdown, in a sense, begins Tuesday, November 7. Likewise, for Cameroon, the time to think about 2007 and 2011 is now.” (Photo gallery)