Viban, who was first elected CAMASEJ National President in December 2019 in Douala, was re-elected in Bamenda on Saturday December 16.
This was during the association’s elective general assembly, which brought together members from six chapters, including Yaounde, Douala, Buea, Limbe, Kumba and Bamenda.
Viban, who was seeking a second mandate, had as challengers Cham Victor,Publisher of Municipal Updates newspaper, and freelance journalist, Sah Terence.
Shortly before elections, Sah announced he was stepping down to back Cham Victor for CAMASEJ presidency.
Elections had to be delayed after the candidates attempted putting up a consensus list but negotiations flopped.
A total of 133 electors cast their ballots in the election, with Viban Jude securing 79 votes, while his challenger Cham Victor got 54 of the votes.
Win for a more united CAMASEJ
In his acceptance speech, the president-elect promised to step up efforts to continue uniting members of CAMASEJ and give a new image to the association, which according to some, has been in fractions for years.
Viban equally challenged members of the reputable journalism association to be committed and give him their support so that they can all work for a better CAMASEJ.
“We started giving CAMASEJ a facelift and we will just continue from there. We will listen more, reach out to members to take ideas and see how we can implement them. We cannot do it alone, we have to do it with all members of CAMASEJ and we are asking everybody to be a committed member,” the re-elected CAMASEJ boss stated.
Viban continued: “Ours is a legacy that we want to build, ours is a trade mark that we want to build. We want to be remembered, so we are getting to work so that we can be remember for doing the right things,” Viban Jude said.
Cross section of CAMASEJ new executive members
Projects under his leadership
During the elective general assembly, members of the association were briefed on a 3-year project to train members on conflict reporting, which is set to kick off in 2024.
It was revealed that the project which stands at 300.000 US dollars is funded by Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA.
Through this giant, project it was disclosed that operational offices of CAMASEJ will be set up in Yaounde, Bamenda and Buea in 2024.
Setting up social media platforms and a reliable website for the association is also amongst the projects mentioned.
It was also revealed that another grant has been secured from the U.S Embassy in Yaounde, with much light to be shared on the project in 2024.
The 2023 CAMASEJ elective general assembly ended with the presentation of the president and his executive to members.
