Social Liberal Congress Joins CPDM CameroonPostline -- The Social Liberal Congress, SLC, party of Professor George Dobgima Nyamndi will henceforth operate as part of the Presidential Majority of the ruling CPDM. Professor Nyamndi made the disclosure at a press conference he granted in Buea, Friday, July 19. Nyamndi’s 13-year-old party that has, until now, been wobbling, will be joining forces with the CPDM to make what its President terms its contributions to the country’s political landscape. According to a press release announcing its decision to join the CPDM, Nyamndi states that the SLC was considering the necessity to promote and consolidate Cameroon’s nascent democratic culture. “The party will, as in the past, continue to contribute to the growth and spread of a democratic consciousness in Cameroon,” states the release. According to the release, this will be by way of civic education and political training, and encouraging and strengthening dialogue with political stakeholders and civil society organisations. In his opening address to journalists, Nyamndi boasted that the party has come of age and has written its name in bold in Cameroon’s political landscape. This drew a barrage of critical questions from journalists, who sought to know how the party has written its name in bold in the country’s political landscape when, in its 13 years, it doesn’t boast of a single councillor nor an MP. Journalists also sought to know if there was any prior consultation with the CPDM before the move. Nyamndi, who was generally philosophical and evasive in his responses, insisted that the decision had been well thought out and that it was reached after due consultation with the party’s militants, whose number he failed to disclose. Nyamndi also declined disclosing if there was any prior consultation with the CPDM before the decision. On the achievements the party has recorded so far in its 13 years of existence, Nyamndi stated: “We cannot measure our achievements to that of others. To us, a drop might be great but to others they may require a river flowing to count as achievement”. However, he held that the party has been a major player in the political scene and has taken part in two presidential elections. “There has been no major political event in the country in which the SLC has been absent. We have every legitimate reason to think that we have made significant contributions to the national landscape,” he said. The SLC President, meanwhile, in justifying the decision to join the CPDM, repeatedly quoted the saying that “in politics, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends. There are only permanent interests”. The University of Buea professor praised Cameroon’s democratic process and credited the “democratic success” to the Cameroonian people. Rather than just being antagonistic, the SLC President said political parties should be complementary for the country’s growth. On why he is joining the CPDM, Nyamndi said he had come to realise that the ruling party has ideological similarities with his party and also has a similar political road map as his party. A journalist sought to know what would happen if the proposal by the SLC was rejected by the CPDM. He insisted that “the move was well thought out and if it is rejected, it is part of the political game.” On why he realised of a sudden that the party needed to join the CPDM (which has differences in their political stance), after having partaken in the last two presidential elections against the same CPDM, he argued that “politics is dynamic and political choices depend on a party’s roadmap. Political parties should be complimentary so that through joint efforts, progress and democracy can be fostered. And so a change in the political stance shows an understanding of the political terrain”. The Presidential Majority, it would be recalled, is made up of the CPDM and other satellite parties such as the NUDP of Bello Bouba Maigari, Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon of Issa Tchiroma Bakary and the Movement for the Defence of the Republic, MDR, of Dakole Daissala.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 00:06:54 +0000
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