Ahead of the October 2025 presidential election, prominent Cameroonian figures are calling on citizens to use the ballot box to reject long-time President Paul Biya.

A coalition of university lecturers, civil society members, and traditional leaders issued a public appeal urging Biya, in power since 1982, not to stand again — or to be voted out if he does. They argue that at 92 years old, Biya’s continued rule symbolizes a stagnant political system ill-suited to address urgent crises such as the Anglophone conflict, economic hardship, and endemic corruption.

These collective voices have sparked fresh debate: while some local mayors and traditional chiefs insist Biya embodies stability, others — including church leaders — describe his candidacy as “unrealistic” and warn it threatens democratic progress .

Human Rights Watch and other observers have also criticized the regime for cracking down on opposition and independent groups in the lead-up to the vote, citing arrests and restrictions on political activity .

With a sizable youth population — more than 65% under 30 — and rising disillusionment over repeated calls for change, the upcoming election is shaping up as a defining moment for Cameroon’s future — a choice between the entrenched old guard and a new path forward.

Source: Africa News

On June 10, 2025, Jean Nkuete, Secretary-General of the Central Committee (SG/CC) of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), released an 11-point statement addressing the increasingly polarized national political climate in the run-up to the presidential election. In the document, the Deputy Prime Minister directly targeted the opposition, specifically the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM), accusing it of escalating public tension.

Jean Nkuete wrote, “We are observing that, as the presidential election approaches, some political parties, several of which are grappling with their own internal contradictions, are feeding the public with false debates that create confusion.” His message became clearer as he denounced “calls for the preparation of a sacrificial and deadly insurrection,” referencing a third country whose situation, he argued, is incomparable to Cameroon’s.

The Shadow of the Paris Rally

This criticism is a thinly veiled attack on CRM leader Maurice Kamto, who delivered a controversial speech at a Paris rally on May 31. Kamto declared, “If we fail in 2025, it will be Cameroonians’ own fault.” The former Minister Delegate for Justice elaborated, “If we miss the opportunity for the change Cameroonians have been yearning for over decades, it will be our own fault. Don’t wait for anyone! Look at Senegal, what you saw there came after young Senegalese fought throughout 2023 and 2024, and there were nearly fifty deaths. Yes… Don’t think people just lie down and change happens. Transformation takes struggle.”

For Jean Nkuete, these remarks indicate a deliberate strategy to use confrontation as a political tool. He called for the rejection of all forms of violence, writing, “Cameroon is a mature nation, whose fundamentally republican people bear the scars of violence from the independence war, the dark years, and, more recently, the atrocities in the Northwest and Southwest regions.” He concluded by stating, “Cameroonians, who more than anyone know the cost and value of peace, will not allow personal ambition to endanger lives or jeopardize the peace, stability, and coexistence they have so dearly secured.“

CRM’s Response

In response to the accusations, CRM condemned what it called an attempt to criminalize political expression. According to barrister Désiré Sikati, a party member and lawyer at the Cameroon Bar, Kamto’s comments have been intentionally misrepresented. He asked, “Is it not legitimate and common in a democracy to call for public protests against illegality?” In his view, the May 31 speech should not be equated with a call for insurrection, but rather a lawful civic mobilization. He added, “Can a call to protest be interpreted as a call to die in a democratic state?“

The lawyer then reversed the accusation, implicitly pointing to the government’s suppression of political protests. He concluded in a pointed tone, “Should live bullets be fired at peaceful demonstrators in a democratic country?“

Source: Business in Cameroon

President Paul Biya’s once-solid alliances in Cameroon’s Greater North region are fracturing as the 2025 presidential election draws near. Political heavyweights in the region are breaking ranks, threatening the longstanding pact that has delivered Biya massive electoral support.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training and leader of the National Front for the Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC), fired the loudest warning shot. On June 13 in Garoua, his home turf, Tchiroma delivered a blistering speech against the regime he officially supports. He stood before a loyal crowd and spoke in the local language, blaming the government for the North’s misery—rampant unemployment, grinding poverty, and institutional neglect.

“How can people work when they apply for jobs, but never get hired, never get help, and nothing is done for them? We are in misery. Someone seeking happiness will tell you to vote to stay poor. Isn’t that a misfortune? It is a misfortune,” Tchiroma declared. He added, “If one day, I, Issa Tchiroma, ask you to vote for what brings you misery, then I am wicked.”

Tchiroma’s message went further. He called on Northerners to unite and break free from 42 years of hardship. “We haven’t solved your old problems. But if we unite now, we can solve them for good. The Lord has awakened us—it’s time to act. When the time comes, put in your envelope what will end our misery,” he urged, his words carefully coded but clear.

RDPC Reacts: Calls for Tchiroma’s Ouster

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) erupted in outrage. Hervé Emmanuel Nkom, a senior party official, demanded Tchiroma’s immediate removal from government. “We must draw consequences from shifting positions. We can’t move forward with uncertain allies,” Nkom said on Bnews. “After this statement, the minimum is that Issa Tchiroma Bakary leaves the government,” he insisted, arguing no one can serve inside the system while attacking it from outside.

Political analyst Philippe Nsoa called Tchiroma “consistently inconsistent.” On Le Club, Nsoa noted, “For 16 years as minister, Tchiroma only praised Paul Biya. Now he makes a dramatic U-turn, but it’s not his first.”

Wider Political Realignment in the North

Tchiroma’s stance signals a deeper shift in the Grand North. The region’s near-automatic support for Biya is fading as new voices call for change. The National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) will meet on June 28 in Yaoundé, with internal factions demanding a split from the RDPC. Bello Bouba Maïgari, UNDP’s leader, faces mounting dissent.

Abdouraman Babba Hamadou, a prominent Northern figure, recently called for a “national republican surge” ahead of 2025. In a widely shared op-ed, he wrote, “To reclaim our country in the next election, we must unite supporters of change from all backgrounds. Let the wind of change blow across Cameroon!”

Tchiroma and Babba Hamadou may not share a party, but both urge the Grand North to rally for change, challenging its reputation as a regime stronghold.

ANDP Remains Loyal to Biya

Not all Northern leaders are abandoning Biya. The National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), another longtime RDPC ally, stands firm. Party president Hamadou Moustapha declared unwavering support for Biya on August 3, 2024, in Tokombéré. “We will go to the presidential elections. Now is the time to thank the president. In the next election, President Biya will be our candidate. We have supported him and will support him again and again,” Moustapha said.

Despite the RDPC’s deep roots in the North, the open dissent of figures like Tchiroma, internal UNDP rifts, and activism from leaders like Babba Hamadou and Guibai Gatama raise a critical question: Can Paul Biya still count on the Grand North to keep his grip on power?

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon is counting down to a presidential election with key questions over the health of 92-year-old veteran leader Paul Biya, separatist violence in its English-speaking regions and ethnic tensions all unresolved.

With less than four months until the first ballot is cast, any prospective challenger will have to soon announce their tilt at taking over the central African nation at a tough time for the economy.

Ratings agency Fitch on May 9 predicted that should Biya run he would win the upcoming vote, “guaranteeing political and policy continuity” at a time of upheaval for many ordinary Cameroonians.

In the capital Yaounde, Biya’s likeness is plastered — as usual — on billboards all over the city, while his critics are nowhere to be seen.

Yet Biya, who came to power in 1982, has kept schtum on whether he will run in October’s election to extend his more than four-decade rule.

Given Biya is already the world’s oldest head of state, questions over his health and capacity to govern have dominated debate over the vote.

Cameroon’s opposition appears more fragmented than ever, undermining its ability to oust the longtime leader despite the favourable political winds.

That Biya’s critics have been unable to agree on a unity candidate is largely down to “the egoism of the players, the lack of humility of the leaders, ideological fractures and the whiff of tribalism”, said Simeon Ekodo Mveng, a political researcher at Laval University.

University of Yaounde 1 professor Charles Romain Mbele said that the opposition had decided to band together in various groups “to give itself a chance”.

“We see that that is laborious, while the ruling party is firmly rooted across the nation, with alliances with other parties in government,” he added.

Since 2016 Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have been riven by conflict between English-speaking separatists and the government.

Many Cameroonian English-speakers say they face systemic discrimination in the majority French-speaking country.

But what began as a civil rights protest quickly descended into armed insurrection.

According to the latest estimates by Human Rights Watch, the fighting has killed at least 6,000 civilians so far.

Separatist groups have carried out kidnappings and attacks on civilians and officials, while the army and police are accused of launching raids aimed at punishing alleged separatist sympathisers.

All the while Boko Haram jihadists have been sowing terror at the other end of the country in the Far North region, where the group has been active since 2009.

The various security crises have uprooted many Cameroonians from their homes and pose a challenge to the peaceful conduct of the elections.

Beyond the fighting out in the open, Cameroon also faces the more insidious menace of ethnic rivalry.

Fractures along identity lines have deepened, while at times the political debate has regressed to an ethnic mud-slinging match.

“In election periods, stereotyped rhetoric resurfaces, pitting the ‘Bamileke’ often considered to be economically dominant against the ‘Beti’, the group which President Paul Biya comes from,” said Baba Wame, a professor at the University of Yaounde II.

“These narratives are sometimes amplified by anonymous accounts or local influencers,” Wame added.

The official line, which Biya has taken to social media to repeat, is that ethnic discrimination must be fought.

But, although Cameroon has had a law against hate speech and tribalist rhetoric on the books since 2019, its enforcement has only ever been hesitant, while perpetrators never face prosecution in the courts.

As Cameroonians prepare to head to the polls, the nation’s economic difficulties will have hit many voters in the wallet.

Many are unemployed, including nearly three-quarters of the country’s young people, according to Gabriel Fandja, who heads the National Assembly’s education commission.

Inflation, which according to official statistics hit five percent in 2024, has eaten away at their purchasing power.

Access to safe drinking water, healthcare and decent education remains out of reach for many.

Those tensions have worried Cameroon’s households and the country’s international financial partners alike.

Whether on social networks or during televised debates, ordinary Cameroonians have raised their voices to criticise the cost of living and the lack of basic services.

Increasingly vented in the open, the frustrations reflect a profound social malaise in the run-up to the presidential ballot.

Culled from AFP