The electoral calendar is not yet clear in Cameroon, regarding municipal, legislative and presidential elections. In theory, they are planned for 2025. But the staffs of certain political parties are already strongly mobilized.
4 mins
From our correspondent in Yaoundé,
“ The party has decided to take the bull by the horns and prepare properly and seriously for the challenges that are on the horizon. » Speaking on October 21, 2023, in Ebolowa in the south of the country, Jean Nkuete, secretary general of the central committee, could not be clearer on the issues of the “regional tours” that he led across the country, the head of a strong delegation of hierarchs of the Democratic Rally of the Cameroonian People (RDPC, in power).
Throughout this political journey, Mr. Nkuete drew the attention of his comrades to the fact that“ an important chapter in the history of our democracy will be written in 2025 during the triple municipal, legislative and presidential elections “. Hence the exhortation addressed to those responsible, called to “ ensure the registration on the electoral lists of all voters, activists, sympathizers, friends and supporters of the RDPC and the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Biya “.
Even if the Cameroonian political scene is not accustomed to such excitement outside of electoral periods themselves, this approach by the CPDM is not surprising in the eyes of specialists. “ One of the strengths of the RDPC is to be attentive to the positioning of its members and supporters and to ensure their loyalty. It’s about launching and breaking in the machine », explains Professor Mathias Eric Owona Nguini, socio-political scientist at the University of Yaoundé II-Soa.
According to Professor Michel Oyane, political scientist at the same university institution, “ the RDPC, which is a state party, and not a party-state, thus defines, through the action of the secretary general of the central committee, democratic technologies of mobilization and remobilization in order to remain at the head of the State of Cameroon. »
Notable fact: these “tours” of Mr. Nkuete took place in a context marked by the intensification of “calls” from CPDM activists, in the direction of Paul Biya, 92 years old in 2025, so that he presents himself to the next presidential election. An old practice. “ The calls are routine. We are witnessing a hierarchy of various ballots, the main one being the presidential election. Which does not mean that the other elections, the legislative and municipal elections, are not important, on the contrary », analyzes Owona Nguini, who adds: “ From the moment the dominant party gets started, the other political groups consider this to be a signal, and also get started. »
Reconfigurations in opposition
We are far from dead calm also in the ranks of the opposition forces. Since the election in October of Joshua Osih, unsuccessful former candidate in the 2018 presidential election, as president of the Social Democratic Front (SDF, long the main opposition party), this political group is facing defections. Sign among others: the resignation, announced on December 7, of Godden Zama, unsuccessful candidate in the election for the post of national president, and who had severely criticized the electoral process. Before him, numerous activists from various grassroots structures established in several regions of the country, and municipal councilors, gave up their apron.
Significant fact: they announce, in general, their adhesion to the Front for Change in Cameroon (FCC), of Jean-Michel Nintcheu, deputy and former vice-president of the SDF, who shows his support for Maurice Kamto, president of the Movement for renaissance of Cameroon (MRC). “ In the days that follow, I will meet politicians, pro-democracy civil society figures, academics, intellectuals, women and men of culture from the ten regions of the country, and the diaspora. to explain to them that it is a civic duty, a political and democratic imperative to support the candidacy of the national president of the MRC, during the next presidential election », announced Mr. Ninctcheu, in a “ call for the pooling of the forces of the people of change during the next elections », made public on December 8, the day before the start of the MRC Congress.
Already, observers are wondering about the political, and particularly electoral, implications of this militant nomadism on the SDF. “ In certain regions, effects can be expected. It remains to be seen whether in the main stronghold of the SDF, everyone will follow the logic of turning their back on this party. “, explains Owona Nguini. One certainty: in 2025, or before, the maneuvers already underway will gain in intensity.