Race to Mbengwi Council's Top Seat Begins

Race to Mbengwi Council's Top Seat Begins

After the February 9th 2020 twin elections in Mbengwi, though voting was mostly done by the military and administration, though the exercise was heavily boycotted, though armoured cars were used to smuggle in most of the aspiring councillors from Bamenda and other towns where they've been "hiding", one fact became obvious, that the CPDM emerged the victor. The party stood unchallenged as the SDF and APF party that jointly shared the council before with the CPDM never went in for the municipals. The hitherto tripartite Mbengwi council is now completely a CPDM run council.

Every finish line is the beginning of a new race. After winning the council de facto, the next challenge now is to extract a mayor out of the 25 councillors. As the countdown to elect a new mayor for the Mbengwi council narrows, so too are the stakes expanding and anxiety increasing. Mbengwi Online has learnt that there are three aspirants to the top seat; the female incumbent and two other male challengers.

Mbengwi Council Building

Even though most of the councillors disappeared from public view after the voting exercise, there are indications serious underground talks, consultations, lobbying and wooing are ongoing. The party is said to now be in camps based on which aspiring mayor each councillor is backing. Calls, text and WhatsApp messages plus mouth to mouth discussions are communication means derived by the aspirants to canvas for support. Non of the trio is sleeping. 

The situation becomes more complex because of the top. In the past, the then Minister of Arts and Culture, Ama Tutu Muna, the first ever female minister from the North West region was a strong mover and shaker of the CPDM political game in the Momo East Constituency especially  Mbengwi. There are people in high and low places today because of her. Like the French say, "Chacun a son tour chez le coiffeur". On October 2nd 2015, she was sacked through a cabinet reshufflement and Mbah Acha Rose was appointed as Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Supreme State Control, the second female minister from the NW region. Like her predecessor, she too comes from the Momo East Constituency and by default will obviously have that strong influence on who will be where. 

The councillors have their individual choices but at the same time know that once party hierarchy says dance this way, they'll have no choice again. So while campaigning to be mayor, the three aspirants are also making sure their relationship with the minister is convivial. Fortunately or unfortunately good relationships ought to have been built before, not now. It is only speculated that the minister will influence the councillor's choice of their mayor. She may still  hands off the exercise and give the councillors the leeway to decide. Mbengwi Online is following.