Cameroon Presidential Election: Maurice Kamto Excluded from the Race, Election Under Tension

It's now official: Maurice Kamto will not be a candidate in the Cameroonian presidential election on October 12, 2025. The Constitutional Council ruled on Tuesday, August 5, rejecting his appeal against his disqualification by ELECAM. A dramatic turn of events for some, an obvious political maneuver for others.

A disqualification that arouses incomprehension

On July 26, Cameroon's electoral body, ELECAM, published a list of 13 candidates selected for the presidential election. Maurice Kamto, leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) and Paul Biya's main opponent, was absent. The reason given was that his nomination had allegedly been supported by two parties at once, the MRC and MANIDEM, a violation of the Electoral Code.

Supported by his supporters, Kamto quickly appealed to the Constitutional Council, hoping to overturn this decision, which he deemed unfounded and politically motivated. But on Tuesday, the high court upheld his exclusion, deeming the appeal "unfounded," thus sealing his absence from the presidential election.

An opposition deprived of its heavyweight

With this decision, the Cameroonian government has sidelined the man who, for many, represented the only real alternative to President Paul Biya , who had been in power for 42 years. In the 2018 presidential election, Maurice Kamto obtained around 14% of the vote, denouncing massive fraud and claiming victory, which earned him a stay in prison.

At 71, the opposition leader remains a major figure in Cameroonian politics. His exclusion therefore raises serious concerns about the fairness of the election, especially since the outgoing president, Paul Biya, aged 92, is still a candidate for a seventh term in office.

A democracy under surveillance

The international community is closely monitoring the situation in Cameroon. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch warn of the regime's authoritarian drift and the instrumentalization of institutions. According to them, depriving a major candidate of his right to compete casts a shadow over the legitimacy of the entire electoral process.

Calls for calm are growing as tensions rise in some parts of the country. In Yaoundé and Douala, security forces have been deployed to anticipate possible demonstrations by MRC supporters, who denounce an electoral farce.

Towards a locked election

Maurice Kamto's absence completely reconfigures the campaign. Faced with Paul Biya, the other shortlisted candidates are struggling to embody a credible opposition. The October election could therefore be played out without any real competition, in a climate of widespread distrust.

As the country faces numerous crises—economic, security, and social—this major exclusion further weakens a democracy already undermined by suspicions of manipulation, cronyism, and the erosion of power.