Elsewhere, the report notes only 32 percent believe the poll is necessary; concluding that incumbent President Paul Biya, in power since 1982 will be reelected.

The study, conducted between December 2010 and May 2011, was sponsored by the European Union, a major donor to Cameroon and enacted afield by the non-governmental Women Horizons. It set out to probe the degree of involvement of women and disabled persons in elections and democratic governance in Cameroon.

Among others, it warns that unless women are sensitized on the need to actively participate in elections, apathy at the upcoming may so high that it will considerably tone down the legitimacy of the October vote.

Women constitute 52 percent of the country’s population, but they suffer low representation in politics, a predominantly a male-dominated arena.

The results of the survey also indicate that most women consider politics in general and elections a dirty game riddled with vote-fiddling and corruption. Only 58 percent of polled women know about the existence of Elections Cameroon [ELECAM] a new body created in 2006 to manage elections in the country.

So far, only two women have unveiled plans to challenge Biya at the October poll, amid a long list of men. Pundits explain that since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in Cameroon in the early 1990s, female representation in politics has significantly waned. Examples include their representation in parliament which stood at 14% in 1988, 6% in 1992, 5% in 1997.

Figures from the 2007 legislative and council elections, show that only 25 women were elected into Parliament that has 180 seats, indicating a representation of only 13.89 percent.

There are only six female government ministers [of about sixty] and women have a mere 5.4% representation in public administration. Today, there is no female governor, no female senior divisional officers, no female military generals and only one female head of a political party.


According to Ms Denise Ngatchou, head of Women Horizons: “If we consider women leadership from the point of view of political engagement, we see very well that political engagement is not important within the two groups involved in the survey.

Few women and handicapped persons are members of political parties and few still hold any positions of leadership in politics.”

October’s poll will be the first to be organized by the Elections Cameroon, ELECAM. The elections management body created by President in 2006 has been heavily condemned as lacking autonomy by the opposition.

The main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, SDF, has warned it would disrupt the poll if ELECAM’s membership is not overhaul and neutral people brought in.

Many Cameroonians believe ELECAM is constituted by former senior members of Biya’s ruling Cameroon Peoples’ Democratic Movement, the CPDM. On their part, pundits argue that the body’s present constitution tacitly guarantees victory for Biya who lifted term limits from the constitution in 2008 to seek reelection for as long as he chooses to.

Last May, the Cameroon's Human Rights Commission and UN Women flagged off a campaign aimed at sensitizing representatives of political parties, journalists and civil society organizations on the electoral rights of women.

According to the Chairman of the commission, Dr Divine Chemuta Banda: "We have to start calling attention to the need to see that our ladies should not only be dancers and vote-givers; but that they are candidates who can be elected to play important roles in the various organs."

Cameroon, he said, has ratified many international instruments relating to the civil and political rights of women and the country's revised Constitution of January 18, 1996 in its preamble, also states that all citizens are equal and have the same rights without discrimination.

Despite all these, he added, the civil and political rights of women are violated, notably with regard to landed property, succession, employment, vote and the right to stand as candidates in elections.