Keypoints:
- Biya announces eighth-term bid at age 92
- High-profile allies break with ruling party
- Opposition remains divided ahead of deadline
CAMEROON’S President Paul Biya has declared his candidacy for the October 12, 2025 presidential election, aiming to prolong his nearly 43-year hold on power. The 92-year-old leader announced his intention on Sunday via a post on X, published in both English and French.
‘I am a candidate for the October 12, 2025 presidential election. Rest assured that my determination to serve you is commensurate with the serious challenges facing us,’ Biya wrote. ‘Together, there are no challenges we cannot meet. The best is still to come.’
While widely expected, Biya’s formal declaration comes at a politically sensitive time, as debate over his advanced age and leadership capacity has intensified. Questions about his health, as well as governance concerns, have led even loyalists to reassess their positions.
Key allies break ranks
Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), in power since independence in 1960, is showing visible signs of strain. Two prominent political figures—once staunch allies—have recently launched presidential bids of their own.
In June, Employment Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary resigned from the government and announced his candidacy under the banner of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC), a party formerly aligned with Biya’s CPDM. Days later, long-time ally and former Prime Minister Bello Bouba Maigari declared his candidacy for the National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP), also a historic CPDM partner.
Their departures signal a deepening rift within Biya’s support base, raising questions about the ruling party’s ability to maintain cohesion during the campaign.
Opposition names familiar challengers
The opposition field is also taking shape. Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM), who finished second in the 2018 presidential race, has declared his candidacy once again. A fierce critic of Biya, Kamto continues to contest the legitimacy of past elections and regularly denounces state corruption and repression.
Also joining the race is Cabral Libii, leader of the Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation (CPNR), who appeals to a younger, reform-minded electorate. Both Kamto and Libii are viewed as credible challengers, but their competing platforms reflect the broader fragmentation within the opposition.
Presidential candidates have until July 21 to formally register their intent to run.
Public frustration, weak unity
Despite growing dissatisfaction over economic hardship and poor governance, opposition parties remain splintered. Analysts note that unless a unified front emerges, Biya may once again benefit from divided resistance.
Cameroonians frequently voice frustration over rising youth unemployment, inflation, and failing public infrastructure. Insecurity remains acute, particularly in the Anglophone regions, where separatist movements continue to battle government forces in a low-intensity conflict.
Even amid mounting discontent, Biya’s control of state institutions and the CPDM’s entrenched political machinery make him a formidable incumbent.
President Biya’s re-election bid, while long anticipated, underscores the enduring dominance of a political figure who has shaped modern Cameroon for over four decades. Whether voters seek continuity or change, the upcoming election will test both the strength of his rule and the viability of the country’s democratic process.
