Cameroon's ruling party sweeps parliamentary polls

ANKARA

Cameroon's ruling party emerged as the winner of parliamentary elections held on Feb. 9, the country's electoral body said Friday.

The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement secured 152 seats out of 180, followed by the National Union for Democracy and Progress party which bagged seven seats, according to official results.

Voter turnout was 43%.

The main opposition party, Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) did not take part in the vote after its leader Maurice Kamto called for a boycott. He said the country is not ready for elections.

Ongoing protests in the country's two English-speaking regions disrupted the election process.

Earlier this week, the Constitutional Council canceled elections in 11 constituencies in some parts of the trouble-hit northwestern and southwestern regions.

It said the elections in some constituencies failed to meet constitutional requirements.

Cameroon has been marred by protests since 2016, with residents in English-speaking regions saying they have been marginalized for decades by the central government and the French-speaking majority.

The protesters are calling for a return to federalism or independence of English-speaking Cameroon.

The conflict between the government and separatist group from the "English-speak minority has killed over 3,000 people and displaced 600,000," according to the International Crisis Group.

However, Cameroon's Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji denied the existence of a crisis and said in December 2019 that only 152,000 people were displaced from the Anglophone regions, Amnesty International said in a report.