The President’s Primary Opponent is prohibited from Standing by Cameroon’s Election Authority
Cameroon’s electoral commission, ELECAM, announced on Saturday that prominent opposition figure Maurice Kamto has been disqualified from contesting the upcoming presidential election scheduled for 12 October. Kamto, a respected law professor and former cabinet minister, was widely viewed as the strongest challenger to President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country for nearly 43 years.
According to ELECAM, Kamto was deemed ineligible due to a technical legal issue: he had accepted a nomination from the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM), which had previously boycotted the 2020 legislative and municipal elections. Under Section 121 of Cameroon’s electoral code, political parties that abstain from those elections lose the right to nominate presidential candidates in future contests.
Kamto previously ran in the 2018 presidential election, securing second place with 14 percent of the vote. Widespread allegations of fraud marred that election, though Biya was declared the landslide winner. The 71-year-old’s exclusion has sparked concerns about potential unrest and significantly narrows the presidential field—only 12 of over 80 hopefuls have been approved to stand in the election.
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