Cameroon

21, September 2025

Brenda Biya calls on Cameroonians to reject President Biya in October ⁰

The president’s only daughter published a video on social media on Thursday in which she appealed to voters and told them to not cast their ballot for her father in the upcoming presidential election.

Paul Biya, incumbent president of Cameroon, might have not imagined his campaign for his planned seventh re-election as president to take such a turn. The reason? His only daughter, Brenda Biya, called for Cameroon’s population to not vote for her father in a video published on her TikTok account on Thursday.

In the video, which the 27-year-old was taken in Switzerland, Brenda Biya said that she would “cut” all contact with her parents and said that her family had mistreated her, as well as people close to her “wanting her dead”.

She then pivoted to politics, saying that she would not “vote for Paul Biya” and that she “hoped there would be another president”.

The video has gone viral and has been welcomed by the political opposition. No known official reaction has come from the presidency or the government.

Brenda Biya previously caused controversy with other videos on several occasions, notably showing herself dancing and also through a video published last year announcing her homosexuality, a sexual orientation which is deeply frowned upon on Cameroon.

Source: Africa News

19, September 2025

Kamto calls on opposition candidates to rally behind a single contender ⁰

With less than a month to go before Cameroon’s October 12 presidential election, Maurice Kamto, leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), has issued an urgent call for the 11 opposition candidates to rally behind a single contender or form a strong coalition against incumbent President Paul Biya of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM).

In his statement on Wednesday, September 17, Kamto stressed that the country is facing “a historic moment where political change is possible,” urging opponents of the regime to avoid splitting the vote. He argued that the opposition must “clarify the situation and simplify voters’ choice through a political alliance,” in order to enable change “peacefully and at the ballot box.”

Just days earlier, on Friday, September 12, Kamto hosted Issa Tchiroma Bakary, leader of the National Salvation Front of Cameroon (FSNC) and one of the 11 contenders cleared to face the outgoing president.

Kamto described their talks as “frank and cordial,” while Tchiroma’s campaign portrayed the meeting as “a gesture of respect and solidarity” toward “a key opposition figure unjustly excluded from the presidential race.” In a statement, the FSNC said the encounter demonstrated “the strength of unifying leadership, placing the nation’s higher interest above personal ambitions.”

Although barred from the ballot by the Constitutional Council on grounds of “multiple nominations”—a decision he denounced as a “political maneuver”—Kamto remains a central figure of the opposition. His resignation from MANIDEM, formalised on September 12, cleared the way for his return as MRC leader, in line with a resolution of the party’s National Council.

As President Paul Biya, in power since 1982, seeks an eighth term, Kamto reiterated that “the struggle continues,” calling on the 11 opposition candidates to act like a football team by choosing “the striker with the best chance of scoring the winning goal.”

Source: APANews

18, September 2025

Paul Biya at 92: will defections weaken his grip on absolute power? ⁰

Cameroonians go to the polls in October 2025 in what some people hoped might be a break from the country’s troubled recent past. They thought that President Paul Biya (92) might stand aside to allow a transition.

Three years ago I was one of those who expressed optimism about the 2025 poll. But I was wrong.

Biya is set to run yet again for an 8th term. He is already one of Africa’s longest ruling presidents, behind only Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Nguema.

Biya is on the cusp of achieving lifetime presidency since taking office in 1982.

In July 2025, after months of speculation, he confirmed in a tweet that he would run again.

Having weathered coups, silenced dissent, defied death rumours, and outlasted generations of challengers, he reminded friend and foe alike that he remains at the centre of Cameroon’s political ecosystem.

I am a long time scholar of and commentator on African politics, regime transformation, democratic transition and broader governance. Given regional developments that have seen the military deposing long term leaders, one might expect Biya to superintend a managed transition. The intriguing question is: what is it about the situation in Cameroon that continues to defy logic?

There is evident restlessness and frustration among young Cameroonians as well as clear clamour for change. Yet, the incumbent remains the front-runner, supported by the ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, and his near-total command of the state’s political machinery.

Simply, the system has been designed to serve Biya’s interests. With government control of the media, resources, and judicial and electoral institutions, it is unlikely that the opposition can bring about systemic change.

Some things have changed, however. Biya’s previous wins were landslides that left no room for debate. This time things could potentially be different on account of high-profile defections from his party. These men will be challenging him at the polls.

The field

The last electoral cycle, leading up to the 2018 poll, was characterised by subdued challenges and a co-opted or deeply divided opposition. This time Biya appears to face a relatively organised opposition.

Initially, 83 candidates signalled their interest. In July the electoral commission cleared 13 to run. The commission controversially disqualified Maurice Kamto, a renowned legal scholar who performed respectably in the 2018 electoral cycle with 14% of the vote.

Human Rights Watch warned that this would cast a shadow over the credibility of the electoral process.

Nevertheless, several credible figures across the political spectrum remain in the race and present alternatives.

Biya faces two other former allies turned political adversaries.

One is Issa Tchiroma Bakary, his minister of employment and vocational training. A longtime insider of the regime, he served in various ministerial roles and was long considered a loyalist. Yet in June 2025, he resigned from the government, delivering a searing critique of the system he once represented.

He then launched his campaign, running on the ticket of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon.

The minister of tourism and leisure, Bello Bouba Maigari, still formally holding office, declared his intention in July 2025 to run against his boss in the October elections.

This announcement was especially striking given the deep political history between the two men. Maigari is not just any cabinet member. He is a long-standing confidant of the president, having been appointed Biya’s prime minister in 1982 and hailing from the vote-rich northern region. The decision to enter the race marks a shift from loyal lieutenant to presidential challenger, revealing the growing fissures within the ruling elite.

Others in the race worth noting are:

Akere Muna, the son of a former speaker who swore in Biya in 1982 and a tireless advocate for transparency and accountability. He ran for the top job in 2018 (but withdrew at the last minute).

Cabral Libii, from the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation, a young and dynamic leader who also ran for president in 2018 and garnered 6% of the total vote.

Joshua Osih, a seasoned politician with a strong track record.

The issues

The nation’s pressing issues remain the same as they have been for a long while.

These include:

Endemic corruption. Cameroon is ranked 140 out of 180 countries by Transparency International. The reasons are systemic decay of state institutions and maladministration.

Economic stasis, including stubborn unemployment forecast at 7.34% by Statista; 23% live below the international poverty line and 3.3 million are food insecure.

The ongoing anglophone regional crisis pitting the English speaking regions against the dominant francophone centre.

Biya’s ability to govern and the succession question, given his very advanced age and the potential vacuum or infighting if he couldn’t complete his term.

The external dimension

Western actors have been consistent critics of Biya’s regime in the recent past. However, some have adopted a more cautious tone, balancing criticism with strategic interests.

The US, for instance, suspended some military assistance to Cameroon in 2019 over human rights abuses. But it continues counter-terrorism cooperation against Boko Haram.

The European Union, while pressing for peaceful resolution of the anglophone conflict, remains an important trade and aid partner.

China has become Cameroon’s largest bilateral creditor and a top trading partner. According to a report by Business in Cameroon, in 2024 Cameroon owed about 64.8% of its external bilateral debt to China. This is primarily for infrastructure loans that have funded projects like the Kribi Deep Sea Port, the Yaoundé-Douala highway, and hydropower stations.

For regime survival, Biya has pursued a pragmatic foreign policy. Beijing’s diplomatic stance of non-interference and respect for sovereignty resonates with Cameroonian political elites wary of western scrutiny and criticism over democratic backsliding and the anglophone conflict.

But Biya has not severed ties with the west. For example, the government maintains partnerships with France for security training, with Germany for decentralisation support, and with the US for counterinsurgency.

This balancing is not simply geopolitical. It is also deeply embedded in domestic patronage networks. Foreign aid, loans and investments serve as resources to consolidate elite power, strengthen the patronage system and suppress dissent.

The October polls are sure to reaffirm the status quo.

Culled from The Conversation

17, September 2025

Battle for Etoudi: UNDP militants block Minister Djalloh, demand resignation ⁰

Angry members of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) blocked government minister and senior party official Nana Aboubakar Djalloh from entering the party’s headquarters in Yaoundé on Monday, September 15. The protesters demanded his immediate resignation.

“He must resign! He is not entering! We want change!” chanted the activists, who were determined to prevent him from accessing the Etoa Meki building. Senator Pierre Flambeau Ngayap, the UNDP’s secretary general, tried to open a path for Djalloh but was met with firm resistance. Ngayap was forced to step back, with some female members even urging him to avoid a confrontation. The minister attempted to threaten the protestors but was unsuccessful. “He will not enter here until we see his resignation,” one man shouted, while another added, “If the national president has resigned, we don’t want to hear anything else.”

The UNDP has been an ally of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) for nearly two decades, an alliance that secured several ministerial portfolios for UNDP members. Djalloh has served as Minister Delegate to the Minister of Environment since June 2009. A doctor by training, he previously served as Secretary of State for Transport from 1998 to 2004.

The political landscape changed last June when UNDP’s national president, Bello Bouba Maïgari, left the government to launch his presidential bid against incumbent Paul Biya, effectively ending the alliance. This split was expected to lead to the departure of other UNDP ministers, including Djalloh, Marie Rose Dibong (Secretary of State for Housing), and Mouhamadou Ahidjo, the roving ambassador and son of a former president.

In June, Marie Rose Dibong told the state broadcaster CRTV that she would not resign, arguing that her position was based solely on a presidential decree. “Only the Head of state can revoke me,” she said. Djalloh and Ahidjo never publicly took a position but did not leave their posts. On August 19, Bello Bouba made a surprising move, publishing his campaign team, which included both Nana Aboubakar Djalloh and Mouhamadou Ahidjo as members of the national coordination.

The September 15 incident highlights a growing rift between the party’s rank-and-file, who want a clean break from the ruling party, and a leadership accused of playing a double game. While Bello Bouba claimed to be acting at the request of his supporters to legitimize his campaign, the internal unrest now calls into question the coherence of his strategy and fuels criticism about his and his allies’ true commitment to the split.

Source: Business in Cameroon

15, September 2025

Decades’ old Bello Bouba/Tchiroma distrust hampering opposition unity ⁰

The campaign of NUDP leader, Bello Bouba Maigari on 14 September rejected the declaration on 13 September that his northern rival, Issa Tchiroma, has been chosen as the opposition consensual candidate, mainly by Ekane Anicet and Djeukam Tchameni. That came as little surprise to anyone who has been following Cameroon’s contemporary political history. The two men distrust each other and had fallen out acrimoniously in 1992.

Below is a fact sheet timeline of the Bello/Tchiroma saga. Let’s take it from 1982:

– When Paul Biya succeeded Ahmadou Ahidjo as second president of Cameroon in November 1982, he appointed Bello Bouba Maigari as his Prime Minister. Bello was 35 years old. He had earlier held a couple of government positions including that of Minister of the Economy. It looked then like Bello was in line to be the third president. Under the constitutional provision at the time whereby the PM was the constitutional successor, Bello was in a position to succeed President Biya if the latter died in office or decided to quit power as his predecessor had done in his favour. It was said that Ahidjo recommended (or imposed Bello on) to Biya to maintain the north-south power balance.

– Less than a year into office, Bello left (or fled) into exile, abandoning or having resigned as PM, following accusations that he was involved in the first coup plot that was uncovered in August 1983 (before the bloody one of April 1984). He relocated to Kano in Nigeria. Little-known Issa Tchiroma then, a railway engineer, was a senior official at the railways company (Regifercam). In 1984, he had been arrested in connection with the failed bloody coup attempt of April 6, 1984. He was tried and found to be innocent, spared execution like many others but still held in detention at the Yoko prison.

– Fast forward to 1991. With the official relaunch of multiparty politics following the December 1990 Liberty Laws, NUDP (National Union for Democracy and Progress) was created with essentially a northern base and former Ahidjo regime men as its leaders. Samuel Eboua, former Secretary General at the Presidency under Ahidjo was its founding President. Though Bello was still in exile, it was widely reported that he would be the Presidential Candidate for NUDP. Hamadou Moustapha who was also a young minister under Ahidjo, was a Vice President and Issa Tchiroma, released from jail under the Amnesty Laws that also rehabilitated the image of those who, like Um Nyobe, Ahidjo etc, were considered political outlaws, became Political Secretary of the nascent NUDP.

– Ahead of the Tripartite Conference that took place in Yaounde in October-November 1991 to bring the CPDM government, the opposition and civil society actors to talk around the table, Bello returned from exile and within weeks, pulled his weight within NUDP and convened an extraordinary congress of the party in Garoua which Samuel Eboua boycotted in protest and where Bello emerged as new President of the party.

– In March 1992, NUDP emerged second with 68 seats behind CPDM’s 88 in the parliamentary (legislative) elections of March 1992 boycotted by SDF and CDU. Bello, Tchiroma and Moustapha were among NUDP parliamentarians. Later that year, Biya appointed Tchiroma and Moustapha into his government. It was reported that the two NUDP men accepted the appointment without the knowledge of Bello, their party leader. Tchiroma was minister of Transport. Moustapha returned to the Housing and Town Planning ministry he had held under Ahidjo.

– When in a 1994 cabinet reshuffle Tchiroma.and Moustapha were maintained in government against Bello’s wish that they be sacked, he said they had thus excluded themselves from NUDP. Furious, Tchiroma was seen on TV threatening that they would “teach Bello a lesson!” He and Moustapha declared they had taken over as leaders of what they called “Authentic” NUDP but later registered a new party, National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP) in 1995. Both men were eventually dropped from the government in 1996.

– In 1997, Bello was appointed into government as Minister of State for Post and Telecommunications.

– In 2002, Tchiroma returned to NUDP. Unknown whether he was mandated by the party, but obviously unlikely, he played a key role in the quest for an opposition consensual candidate for the 2004 presidential election, which picked the late Adamou Ndam Njoya. NUDP was not officially part of the process.

– In 2007, Tchiroma founded the National Front for the Salvation of Cameroon or FSNC in its French abbreviation.

– In 2008, Tchiroma supported the CPDM’s modification of the Constitution, removing the two-term limit in force since 1996, which would have barred President Biya from seeking re-election at the end of his second mandate under that law in 2011.

– In 2009, Tchiroma was appointed back into the government as Minister of Communication.

– Fast forward to this year. in June, both men resigned from the government. Tchiroma first. Followed by Bello. They both declared their candidacy for the 12 October presidential election. Both men have been pulling big rally crowds in their northern home base. Both men are evidently energizing their base. They are both from Garoua. Opinion polls by English Cameroon for a United Cameroon led by Dr Benjamin Akih, have been suggesting that Tchiroma has a wide lead over all other candidates including Bello.

– About two weeks ago, Bello paid an under-reported courtesy call on Tchiroma at his Garoua home. Little filtered out of the meeting but a video circulating on social media on the same day Tchiroma was presented as consensual opposition candidate, shows both men smiling, shaking hands and later embraced as Bello stepped out of his car and Tchiroma walked out of his house to his veranda.

– The turn-out numbers and anti-Biya energy in the northern regions around the candidacy of Bello and Tchiroma, not seen in previous elections and which gave the impression that Biya owned the massive northern votes, has triggered calls for unity between Bello and Tchiroma to ensure the northern votes are not split. Though both men have visited and held talks with disqualified candidate, Maurice Kamto in an effort towards what many describe as the ideal electoral coalition (KBTM adding Akere Muna), persistent signs of distrust between Bello and Tchiroma are unsettling opposition enthusiasts who hope for a unified opposition front, which many believe, would be the surest way to oust incumbent Biya.

By Franklin Sone Bayen

9, September 2025

Reckless campaign spokespersons can ruin possible coalitions ⁰

Social media and audiovisual declarations by spokespersons and accredited surrogates for candidates are often so amateurish, unguarded and unrestrained; they can hurt the fortunes and prospects of candidates. This is my experience covering politics for over two decades:

– In political campaigns, the people not seen render more strategic service than people seen jumping around and beating drums for candidates.

– Back office guys or campaign strategists give and receive situation briefings, do progress assessments, weigh the risks and prospects, march these with the budget, make projections and inform candidates how the race is faring, how to proceed and/or when the race is done.

– That’s why when candidates take major decisions; including “suspending campaign” (euphemism for throwing in the towel in American political lingo) the most crestfallen faces are those of front office guys, which are the megaphones, the spokespersons, the surrogates. They are often just balloons. Little else.

– The greatest sycophants in a campaign are front office staff. Fortunately and unfortunately, they are not aware of what back office strategists are doing in earnest.

– Political campaigns are expensive. Back office strategists are working on the maths and advising caution. Front office megaphones are spending and enjoying their show without counting the costs (both in terms of expenditure and potential damage and gains).

– Back office guys are those who advise candidates on damage control in order not to burn bridges for future political deal-making.

– Front office guys are artillery soldiers. They never understand. They spit fire against those the candidate may make deals with, eventually.

– Understandably, ignorance and enthusiasm are the fuel that fire front office guys. So, bear with them for not knowing what back office guys know because reality needs to be hidden from them to keep them upbeat. Dampened spirits may cause them to lose the flare they need for their megaphone roles.

However, Campaign Managers ought to monitor the actions and declarations of their mouthpieces and call them to order. Their useful enthusiasm can be a harmful double-edged sword.

By Franklin Sone Bayen

8, September 2025

2025 Presidential Election: Single opposition candidate will emerge on Saturday ⁰

Tension is mounting in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s political capital, as the country’s opposition parties will be announcing a single candidate on Saturday, September 13, 2025, who will give the 93-year-old incumbent, Paul Biya, a run for his money.

The event, scheduled to take place at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé, will send a clear and strong message to the corrupt and incompetent ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) that change is on the way and that those who are still sitting on Mr. Biya’s sinking boat will have themselves to blame.

Cameroonians are looking forward to change and most of them think that Mr. Biya has overstayed his welcome and that he should be held accountable for the economic disaster that has hit the country like a wrecking ball.

Mr. Biya, who is suffering from acute senile decay and who is not even participating in his own campaign, is being touted by the ruling party as the best candidate for the country even when things are falling apart and corruption has increased significantly.

Mr. Biya has ruled Cameroon for forty-three years but there is nothing to show for his long stay in power. The country’s economy has collapsed, causing many Cameroonians to seek greener pastures out of the country.

The country’s political capital, Yaoundé, is an eyesore with garbage heaps lining the streets as if the city is being decorated with garbage.

During Saturday’s event, Prof. Maurice Kamto, who was disqualified as a presidential candidate by the country’s constitutional council will endorse the single candidate which many think will be Issa Tchiroma Bakary who was Mr. Biya’s communication minister and also vocational education minister.

Professor Maurice Kamto is a crowd puller and his presence at the stadium on Saturday will be a nightmare to CPDM stalwarts who thought that his political career was over.

Professor Kamto’s support for a northern candidate spells danger to the ruling CPDM which is very unpopular in the North and is not liked in the West, Northwest and Littoral regions of the country.

Kamto’s endorsement will diminish CPDM votes in the Southern part of the country, whereas in the North, Cameroonians are hunting CPDM stalwarts out of their towns and cities. Even Imams who suggest that prayers be offered in Biya’s name are being shunned in the North.

The country’s political map is being rewritten and the constitutional council’s decision to disqualify Prof. Kamto might turn out to be its greatest undoing as that decision is today uniting the country’s opposition.

CPDM politicians are losing sleep. A huge majority behind Issa Tchiroma who is from the North might thwart efforts by the ruling party to rig elections across the entire Grand North.

This is a developing story and the Cameroon Concord News writers are already on the ground in Yaoundé to provide full coverage of the event. More will be yours as it becomes available.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

8, September 2025

The Roman Catholic Church is concerned about a new term for Paul Biya ⁰

As an important presidential election is approaching in Cameroon, scheduled for October 2025, Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala has just published a sixteen-page pastoral letter in which he provides a damning assessment of the situation in his country. This situation has been exacerbated by the candidacy of the current head of state, Paul Biya, the ailing, 92-year-old candidate for re-election.

Samuel Kleda does not mince words: the archbishop regularly denounces the “moral depravity” in his country. In the letter, distributed and read in the parishes of his diocese on August 8, he speaks of “a society shaken by multiple ills that afflict all social strata.” He attributes the widespread malaise, which is fueling growing discontent in the run-up to elections, to “anti-evangelical acts” deeply rooted in the country’s governance.

These ills include governance marked by corruption, a perverted democracy, endemic poverty and unemployment, illegal immigration, a crumbling road network, difficult access to drinking water and electricity, opaque management of oil resources, injustices in the mining sector, and security crises in the English-speaking regions and the Far North. These scourges pervert the relationship between citizens and their leaders, leading to abuses of power and injustices.

The Archbishop also deplores a socially unbalanced economy, where the country’s wealth is diverted to finance the lavish lifestyles of an elite, while the majority of the population lives in poverty: “The country’s natural resources are plundered to enrich a minority, while the majority of citizens suffer from hunger,” he writes. This situation creates a gaping gap between the rich, who are increasingly prosperous, and the poor, who are increasingly deprived.

But the Archbishop of Douala also does not spare Cameroon’s democratic system, which he describes as “corrupt.” He denounces a political system marked by institutional violence, intimidation, and lies: “A democracy where political actors are despised, brutalized, and imprisoned is doomed to failure,” he asserts.

The exodus of young people is described as a “brain drain.” Bishop Kleda notes that, faced with the lack of hope for a better future, thousands of young people are leaving the country, sometimes risking their lives, in search of better employment, living, and educational conditions abroad. “This flight deprives Cameroon of its young talents, scientists, engineers, and health professionals, to the benefit of countries offering better opportunities,” he laments. This phenomenon, he believes, seriously compromises the nation’s future.

The Archbishop also highlights the security crises tearing the country apart. In the English-speaking regions, where a secessionist conflict that began in 2016 has already caused more than 6,500 deaths and displaced 800,000 people, he condemns both the atrocities committed by the separatists—assassinations, assaults, and kidnappings—and the brutality of the army, which “razes entire villages on mere suspicion.”

In the Far North, attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram are sowing terror and devastation. Faced with these dramatic situations, Archbishop Kleda urges the government to redouble its efforts to restore peace in all regions affected by these crises.

As the presidential election approaches on October 12, 2025, Kleda appears to be suggesting that Cameroonians mobilize for a change in governance: “Choosing a president of the Republic is a civic duty that falls to each of us and will shape the future of our country,” he declared.

Kleda’s remarks sparked strong reactions, particularly from those close to President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982 and is running for an eighth consecutive term at the age of 92. Professor Owona Nguini, an ally of the president, accused the archbishop of meddling in politics: “The bishop has strayed from his priestly mission to engage in partisan politics,” he declared.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Archbishop Kleda concluded on a note of hope, inviting Cameroonians to unite in prayer: “On the eve of the presidential election, I invite you all to join me, your brother, so that together we may raise our voices to Almighty God, to implore peace for our country, a spirit of love and service in families and for each of us,” he wrote.

It is a peace and social cohesion that is at risk of being undermined as the October 2025 election draws closer.

Source: Crux

6, September 2025

Elecam calls on presidential candidates to name vote counting reps ⁰

The President of the Electoral Council of Elections Cameroon (Elecam), Enow Abrams Egbe, has called on candidates for the October 12, 2025, presidential election to appoint their representatives to the National Commission for the Final Counting of Votes (CNRGV). In a press release issued on Thursday, September 4, Elecam stated that this request is in accordance with Article 68 of the Electoral Code. Candidates are urged to submit the nomination documents for their representatives “as soon as possible” to allow for the official confirmation of the commission’s composition.

The National Commission for the Final Counting of Votes a central role in the electoral process. It is comprised of a member of the Constitutional Council who serves as president, two magistrates, five representatives from the administration, five representatives from Elecam, and a representative for each candidate or political party. According to electoral law, the commission is responsible for the general tally of votes, based on official reports and supporting documents sent by the departmental supervisory commissions. It is also authorized to “correct” any clerical errors in the vote count but cannot invalidate the corresponding reports. The commission prepares an official report of all its operations, signed by the president and members present. A copy of this report, along with supporting documents, must be submitted to the Constitutional Council within five days.

Thirteen candidates are vying for the presidency this year. Among them is the incumbent head of state, Paul Biya of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), who is seeking another term. He will face several well-known opposition figures, including Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) and Cabral Libii of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN), both running for the second time. A female candidate, Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, president of the Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU), is also in the race.

Source: Business in Cameroon

2, September 2025

UN raises fears over Cameroon election ⁰

The United Nations on Tuesday said growing restrictions in Cameroon raised fears about whether voters can freely choose their candidate in upcoming presidential elections.

Cameroon’s veteran President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state at 92, is seeking a new seven-year term to extend his nearly 43 years in power in elections on October 12.

“A safe and enabling human rights environment is essential for peaceful, inclusive, and credible elections. It regrettably appears that this is not the case in Cameroon,” said UN rights chief Volker Turk.

He urged the government to take swift action to ensure an environment conducive to a free, transparent election.

Last month, Cameroonian security forces arrested at least 53 opposition supporters, who were accused of public disorder, unlawful assembly, rebellion and incitement to revolt, the UN rights office said in a statement.

“While it is welcome news that all the 53 opposition supporters have since been released, they simply should not have been arrested in the first place. No one should ever be arrested for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly,” Turk said.

Cameroon’s divided opposition is struggling to challenge Biya, who has been accused by rights groups of suppressing political rivals.

Source: AP