Cameroonian opposition leader Maurice Kamto has officially filed an appeal with the Constitutional Council after being disqualified from participating in the country’s upcoming presidential election, scheduled for October 2025.
Kamto, who finished second to President Paul Biya in the contentious 2018 race, was barred last week by the national electoral body Elecam. The agency claimed that Kamto’s political party, Manidem, had already submitted a candidate for this year’s election, thereby disqualifying Kamto’s own candidacy.
The decision has triggered outrage among Kamto’s supporters, who accuse Elecam of selective enforcement. “Other parties have registered multiple candidates without consequences,” one supporter told local media, calling the move a “political exclusion strategy.”
Maurice Kamto, a former minister and prominent legal scholar, is widely regarded as the leading opposition figure capable of mounting a serious challenge to President Paul Biya. Now 92 years old, Biya has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and remains the world’s longest-serving non-royal head of state.
The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) has issued a cautionary statement, warning that the exclusion of prominent candidates could provoke civil unrest, particularly in the capital Yaoundé.
With tensions rising, Kamto’s appeal to the Constitutional Council will be closely watched as a litmus test for Cameroon’s democratic integrity ahead of the high-stakes October poll.
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