Government has told the international community that Cameroon wouldn’t choose a president under influence or pressure from any foreign country or international body.
The Minister of External Relations, Mbella Mbella made the declaration Jul 30 in Yaounde. This was while addressing heads of diplomatic mission, consular posts and representatives of international organizations accredited to Cameroon.
Mbella Mbella said choosing a president for the country at the October poll will be the sovereign choice of Cameroonians. He reiterated government’s commitment to a free and transparent electoral process grounded in national sovereignty and guided by the country’s legal frameworks.
“Let me point out that Cameroon shall not elect its President of the Republic under pressure from any group, country, power, international organisation or institution whatsoever,” Mbella Mbella stated.
He added that: “the President of the Republic shall not be elected under the influence of any ethnic group, tribe, language community, cultural background, religious denomination or any other entity whatsoever”.
Minister Mbella Mbella further told foreign diplomats that Cameroon is a sovereign state, “united in its diversity”, and Cameroonians shall freely vote their leader when the time comes.
“Therefore, I urge your respective countries, the United Nations system, the African Union, the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Francophonie, the Commonwealth and other solidarity circles, to stand by our country in this process,” Mbella Mbella said.
Asserting sovereignty amidst criticism
The government’s message to the international community comes amid criticisms by rights groups that decades of President Paul Biya’s reign has left citizens disconnected from the democratic process.
In the meantime, the Constitutional Council, the highest judiciary institution on electoral matters in the country will this Monday, August 4 begin hearing petitions filed by aspirants. Most of the petitions are from aspirants whose bids were rejected by poll management agency, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM).
From an overcrowded list of 83 aspirants, the Electoral Board of ELECAM retained only incumbent Biya and 12 others for the October 12 vote.
Among the 70 rejected candidates is Prof Maurice Kamto, a key opposition leader and challenger to incumbent Biya. Advocacy groups say Kamto’s exclusion from the forthcoming vote raises concerns about the credibility of the electoral process.
“The election commission has raised doubt on an election before the votes are even cast,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch stated, adding that: “Excluding the most popular opponent from the electoral process will leave a shadow over whatever results are eventually announced.”
ELECAM justifies Kamto’s exclusion
ELECAM justified its decision to exclude Kamto, saying it was because the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM) opposition party that sponsored him, was also sponsoring another candidate, Dieudonné Yebga. The double investiture, the body said is against the electoral law.
“The Election Commission’s decision de facto reduces the upcoming vote to a mere formality, buries what remains of Cameroon’s democracy, and triggers fears of renewed violence,” Allegrozzi said.
Among the 35 appeals filed at the constitutional council is that of Maurice Kamto. He is urging the body to overturn the ELECAM decision and reinstate him on the list of candidates for the election.
First published in NewsWatch newspaper No 215 of Monday, August 4, 2025.
