Cameroonian opposition and civil society blame President Biya for low voter registration rate

Yaounde —

Cameroon is trying to register voters ahead of the approaching deadline. But the political opposition and civil society say most qualified voters are reluctant to register because they believe President Paul Biya plans to rig the election. Barely 50% of qualified citizens have registered for the election scheduled for October 2025.

Cameroon’s election management body, ELECAM, says 7.9 million civilians registered as voters before the August 31 deadline set by the Central African States’ electoral law.

Cameroon is preparing to hold a presidential election next year that will end a seven-year term. The date of the presidential poll will be decided by longtime President Paul Biya.

Biya was declared the winner of the 2018 presidential election, although some opposition and civil society groups reject the results and accuse Biya of massive fraud to maintain his grip on power.

Cameroonian human rights groups say citizens are afraid to register because voters who protested what they claim was the stolen victory of Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) leader Maurice Kamto in 2018 were jailed for rebellion and attempted insurrection.

The MRC and a coalition of political parties that support Kamto say they will not tolerate fraud or electoral malpractice in elections scheduled for 2025. They urge civilians to register, as voter registration is fundamental to credible elections.

The opposition and civil society say they have sent caravans to towns and villages across Cameroon to encourage citizens to register and qualify to vote before registration closes in 10 days.

An opposition member mobilizing in neighborhoods in Buea, capital of Cameroon’s English-speaking South West region, is asking people planning to register to also be prepared to protest if the elections are rigged.

Tamfu Richard is a human rights lawyer and member of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (CPNR). According to him, the CPNR is particularly encouraging disaffected youth, who make up the majority of Cameroon’s population, to register to vote, and demonstrate en masse if their victory is stolen from them again.

He said the opposition will not allow Biya and his government to continue ruling Cameroon with an iron fist.

“Cameroon is at a crossroads where the current president is of age and has been there for 42 years, so it is in the interest of Cameroonians to have another face, someone young at the head of the country. It is in the interest of Cameroonians to ensure that they register massively, to supervise their vote and to defend it when the time comes,” he said.

Cameroon’s opposition and civil society estimate that there are nearly 16 million potential voters in a country with a population of around 30 million.

Emmanuel Neba, a 47-year-old trader, said a majority of Cameroonians are reluctant to register because they believe Biya, in power for more than four decades, wants to rule until he dies.

“We know that Paul Biya will win the elections again. In the United States, Joe Biden is 82 years old and he has abandoned his candidacy to a younger person, but in Cameroon, Paul Biya who is 91 years old wants to continue to be president forever, and that is why the young people are in no hurry to go and register to vote,” he said.

Cameroon’s opposition and civil society say citizens should take inspiration from the example of Chad, which has more than 8.2 million registered voters out of a population of about 18 million. They also say Cameroonians should take inspiration from Senegal, where more than 7 million people out of a population of about 17.5 million have registered for the March 19 presidential elections in the West African state.

According to the opposition and civil society, the massive involvement of young people in Senegal allowed the victory of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 40, over Macky Sall, 62, who was seeking a third term as president of this West African country.

Cameroonian government officials say Biya has won every presidential election he has contested since the return of multiparty politics in 1990. The government denies opposition allegations that Biya plans to rig elections next year and has warned civilians against what officials say is an increase in hate speech ahead of the election.

The opposition and civil society say the Cameroonian government considers criticism of Biya to be hate speech and is threatening arrests.

Biya has not publicly announced that he will run again in the October 2025 presidential election, but his supporters and government ministers have held political rallies calling on him to run again.