/ 1 January 2002

Minister dismissed after Cameroon election mess

Cameroon’s minister for territorial administration, Ferdinand Koungou Edima, has been dismissed following the last-minute postponement of legislative and municipal elections scheduled for Sunday, officials in the capital Yaounde said.

A presidential decree released on Sunday afternoon also announced that the head of the organisation responsible for printing the ballot papers has been replaced.

The elections in the west African state were postponed for a week at the last minute early on Sunday due to organisational problems, and President Paul Biya vowed that those responsible for the snarl-up would be severely punished.

The main problem was reportedly that the printer responsible for producing ballot papers had failed to meet the deadline.

Many polling stations in the capital Yaounde had not been supplied with voting material when voting was scheduled to start. – Sapa-AFP