Elections Cameroon (Elecam) and the Adoption of Information and Communication Tools (ICTs) to Improve Electoral Governance in the Electoral Process in Cameroon

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the main ICT initiatives adopted by Elections Cameroon (Elecam) as a measure to improve electoral governance in the electoral process in Cameroon. Since becoming the elections management body in Cameroon, Elections Cameroon has adopted some ICT initiatives. These include the computerisation of the electoral register, the putting in place of a website, www.elecam.cm, and the introduction of biometric voter registration in. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), it is argued that the adoption of ICT is to improve the electoral process, reduce multiple registrations, and share electoral information as a measure of transparency.The adoption of ICTs by Elections Cameroon has reduced multiple registrations and has made information readily available to eligible voters especially to those in the diaspora. Some short comings nonetheless, can be identified with the ICT attempts: firstly, from the perspective of the website, it is not linked to social media network platforms like facebook, YouTube and twitter, its regional, divisional and council branches do not have websites, social media sites, and secondly, its biometric technology is still limited to voter registration, and cases of multiple voter registration and voting still occur. Thus, to build a more transparent, impartial and credible electoral process in the pursuit of ICT efforts, it is recommended that the website should be linked to social media networks. While Elecam's branches at the regional, divisional and council levelsshould build websites which should be linked to social media platforms, and Elecam's biometric technology should be extended to voting and vote counting. The putting in place of an independent election management organ can help in this direction.