Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Actions For Development and Empowerment (ADE) and Community Solutions Media (CSM) have produced a mobile application to encourage voter participation and foster civic engagement in Cameroon.
The application known as VoteCam, developed with support from the British High Commission was unveiled in Yaounde Tuesday June 10. This was during a ceremony at the British Residence. Officials said the app is timely especially as the country gears up for a crucial presidential election in October.
The App, the CSOs said, offers a variety of features enabling subscribers to seamlessly access information relating to voter eligibility, closest voter registration centers, voter education, profiles of candidates and essential electoral information all in one user-friendly interface.
Nancy Saiboh Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ADE said: “What is unique about the VoteCam App is that it is live; subscribers receive real time notifications on their mobile phones”.
She added that: “If an ELECAM mobile registration team is going to say a neighborhood in Yaounde or Tokombere, subscribers of the App immediately get the notification…if there is any breaking or trending news relating to the election, they will receive in real time as well”.
Saiboh disclosed that the idea of the Mobile App that is now available on the Google Play Store, with plans for broader accessibility, was born from a research about chronic voter apathy among young people in the country.
Cameroon was home to 5.05 million social media users in January 2024, equating to 17.4 percent of the total population, according to DataReportal.
The digital platform is part of a multi-stakeholder project that encourages young people to be part of the political process, said Sah Terence, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CSM.
Through the project dubbed “Democracy Boost Cameroon: Fostering Responsible Journalism, Engaging Youth and Marginalised Communities in Civic and Democratic Processes”, ADE and CMS have trained journalists and bloggers on ethical election reporting and misinformation mitigation.
Both organisations have also established civic clubs in universities; engaging over 100 student union leaders to foster youth participation, according to provided information.
The British High Commissioner to Cameroon, Matt Woods, described the technology as “a great project”, hailing the collaboration between elections management body, ELECAM and the CSOs that developed it.
“This project has got nothing to do with politics in the political sense of the term. It is purely civic, so it so exciting to launch the App today”, Woods said.
Mohamadou Aboubakar, an ELECAM Board Member who joined the British diplomat in unveiling the App said by opening its doors ADE and CSM, the poll agency just demonstrated its readiness to work with all stakeholders of the electoral process within the ambit of the law.
“This mobile application is a welcome initiative. It will facilitate registration on electoral lists for potential voters…It is also an important tool as it permits uses to have real time information about our country’s electoral process”, Aboubakar said.
ELECAM played a key role in the development of the digital platform, providing timely and relevant electoral data to populate the App and ensure the accuracy of information shared with the public.
