Bad News and Voter Apathy in Cameroon

Abstract

The Cameroonian society is overwhelmed with bad news, which we conjecture as having a negative spillover on electoral participation. Contextually, 2025 is a crucial presidential election year in Cameroon, and participation is largely considered the lifeblood to sustain the country’s contested democracy. Over the years, political and civil actors have taken centre stage in the media, calling for voter registration and voting. However, voter apathy has been rising in Cameroon since the 1997 presidential election. This study examines the relationship between bad news reports and voter apathy in Cameroon. Anchored on the Agenda Setting theory, 1285 respondents were surveyed in Buea, Bamenda, Bafoussam, Douala, Yaoundé, and Maroua. Findings reveal that most respondents are significantly interested in getting news updates about electoral activities in Cameroon. Respondents also attest that bad news reports overwhelmingly dominate the Cameroon media landscape (59.8%), predominantly focus on negative aspects of issues (56.2%), and reflect the overall state of Cameroon’s activities (48.5%). Results equally reveal a positive correlation (r= 0.2) between exposure to negative news and voter apathy. This positive correlation, though weak, shows that when bad news reports increase, voter apathy also increases. The weak correlation is due to the influence of other factors responsible for voter apathy, including broken or unfulfilled promises from politicians (78%), lack of trust in electoral institutions (70.6%), vote rigging (67.2%), feeling of detachment from Cameroon’s political systems (60.1%), limited political information or education (56.7%), complex voting procedure (53.3%), and the absence of strong opposition parties in the country. We recommend that electoral stakeholders and media practitioners intensify efforts to encourage and educate the public on the importance of voting to enhance voter turnout. Good news should also count (62.6% affirmed this) in media agenda, especially during elections.