YAOUNDE, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon electoral management body Elections Cameroon (Elecam) on Friday called on candidates in the October 7 presidential election to remain calm as the country awaits the final results.
"As of now, the National Commission for the final counting of votes is already at work for the final counting before transmission to the Constitutional Council," Enow Abrams Egbe, chairperson of Elecam, said at the opening of a board meeting of Elecam in the capital Yaounde on Friday.
"We therefore exhort all candidates to demonstrate maximum restraint and wait for the proclamation of the results."
According to Elecam, 25 petitions had been filed by voters and candidates, asking for the election to be either partially or totally annulled.
"A general observation reveals that the election was conducted free and fair in an atmosphere of serenity and calm. This enabled polling stations to conduct vote counting in a conducive environment whose reports were forwarded to the various divisional supervisory commissions," Egbe said.
Egbe, however, decried "outstanding timidity" observed in certain localities and "widespread absence" of representatives of certain candidates in the polling stations.
According to Cameroon Electoral Code, the Constitutional Council is expected to proclaim the final results of the election by October 22.
