Cameroon’s upcoming presidential election faces mounting scrutiny after the exclusion of prominent opposition figure Maurice Kamto, a move critics argue undermines the vote’s legitimacy. The country’s electoral commission, ELECAM, approved just 13 of 83 candidates on July 26, 2025, including 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya, who has governed since 1982. Kamto, a former presidential candidate and leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), was barred from the October 12 poll, sparking accusations of political bias and electoral manipulation.
ELECAM cited procedural grounds for Kamto’s exclusion, claiming his new party, the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), had endorsed another candidate, Dieudonné Yebga—a claim Kamto’s camp denies. Anicet Ekane, MANIDEM’s president, called the decision “arbitrary,” while security forces blocked the party’s attempt to address the issue at a press conference in Douala. Kamto’s legal team filed an appeal with Cameroon’s Constitutional Council on July 28, arguing the ruling lacked legal merit and aimed to sideline Biya’s strongest rival.
Human Rights Watch condemned the move as part of a broader pattern of stifling dissent. “Excluding the most popular opponent casts doubt on the entire process,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, the group’s senior Africa researcher. She warned the decision risks reducing the election to a “mere formality” and could fuel unrest.
Kamto’s exclusion echoes past clashes between Biya’s government and opposition voices. After narrowly defeating Kamto in 2018, Biya’s administration arrested over 200 protesters and charged Kamto with insurrection before dropping the case in 2019. Subsequent crackdowns on dissent included the 2020 ban of protests against regional elections and the arrest of 550 MRC supporters, some of whom remain imprisoned. Last year, authorities outlawed Kamto’s newly formed Political Alliance for Change coalition, labeling it “illegal.”
Critics highlight Cameroon’s obligations under international law to ensure free and fair elections. The UN Human Rights Committee has emphasized that freedoms of expression and assembly are vital for credible polls—a standard activists say Cameroon is flouting. With Biya seeking an eighth term amid escalating tensions, the exclusion of key rivals raises questions about the government’s commitment to democratic principles. As legal challenges unfold, the October vote risks deepening political divisions in a nation already grappling with separatist violence in its Anglophone regions.
