Cameroon

Politics in Cameroon are marred by low voter turnout, accusations of irregularities, and a crackdown on Anglophone separatists in the country’s Northwest and Southwest Regions. IRI is working with civil society to build citizen engagement and tackle some of the barriers to free and fair voting in the country.

Cameroon’s municipal councils have the authority to govern and lead local projects, but because of administrative bottlenecks, political interference, and/or a poor understanding of their duties, many councilors do not — or cannot — do the work of their office. To address this, IRI is providing technical assistance to Interfaith Vision Foundation Cameroon, a local civil society organization (CSO). Ultimately, this assistance will help IVFCam hold municipal councils accountable. IRI’s work in Cameroon is grounded in improving and expanding the work of nonpartisan CSOs to improve the municipal councils’ professionalism and accountability, while building local ownership for this project.

The Cameroon chapter of IRI’s Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) works to empower women to lead. Its members include parliamentarians, municipal councilors, academics, and civil society and business leaders. WDN Cameroon’s priorities include preparing women and girls for elective positions, educating elected women on their roles and responsibilities, and encouraging women to participate in village-level decision-making.