Political Parties : Managing Internal Crisis

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) during the June 12, 2021 meeting held in Yaounde ruled on the differences pitting some senior officials of the party.  The differences pitting Hon. Joshua Osih and Hon. Jean-Michel Nintcheu had earlier been tabled at the Legal Department of the party whose decision was tabled at NEC for endorsement.
The case of the Social Democratic Front is just a tip of the iceberg in the mechanisms and structures put in place by political parties to resolve internal crises. The management of crises is enshrined in their respective Constitutions. Other political parties such as the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) has the Ad hoc Disciplinary Committee. The Union of the Populations of Cameroon (UPC) according to the Yete Mbote Jacques, the party’s Coordinator for the Littoral Region, has Delegates in charge of Conflicts that handle crises and cases of indiscipline at the level of Sections and the Steering Committee at the national level. Other UPC sources talk of the general assembly of senior party officials whose mission is to iron out differences ahead of party congresses.
Despite the existence of crises management mechanisms, some political parties in the country are almost permanently in crisis. UPC is a living example. For decades now, the party has remained in factions with each of them claiming legitimacy and legality. At the moment, there is controversy over the holding of an ordinary congress.  The history of factions in the UPC has had disastrous consequences for the party as in some national elections the administration has obliged them to present one list in different constituencies.  The elections managing institution, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) in the 2020 elections of Members of the National Assembly rejected UPC lists when each faction presented lists in the same constituencies. The immediate resul...