Cameroon opposition, civil society blame low voter registration on President Biya

Cameroon is trying to register voters before the nearing deadline. But the political opposition and civil society say most qualified voters are reluctant to register because they think President Paul Biya plans to rig elections. Barely 50% of qualified civilians have registered for the election expected in October 2025.

Cameroon's elections management body, ELECAM, says 7.9 million civilians have registered as voters ahead of the August 31 deadline set by the central African states electoral law.

Cameroon is preparing for presidential elections next year to end an ongoing seven-year mandate. The date for the presidential polls will be decided by longtime leader Paul Biya.

Biya was declared the winner of the country's 2018 presidential polls, even though some opposition and civil society groups reject the results and accuse Biya of massive fraud to maintain his grip on power.

Cameroon rights groups say citizens are afraid to register because voters who protested what they claim was the stolen victory of the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement, or 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 and electoral malpractice during the expected 2025 polls. They are urging civilians to register because voter registration is fundamental to credible elections.

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

A member of the opposition moves in neighbourhoods in Buea, capital of Cameroon's English-speaking Southwest region, is asking people who expect to register to also be ready to protest, should the polls be rigged.

Tamfu Richard is a human rights lawyer and a member of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation, or CPNR. Richard said the CPNR is particularly encouraging disgruntled youths who constitute a majority of Cameroon's population to register, vote and come out massively to protest, should their victory be stolen 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 leader is of age and has been there for 42 years, so it is in the interest of Cameroonians to have a different face, somebody who is young at the helm. It is in the interest of Cameroonians to make sure that they massively register, supervise their votes and defend it when the time comes," he said.

Cameroon's opposition and civil society estimate there are close to 16 million potential voters in the country of about 30 million civilians.

Forty-seven-year-old merchant Emmanuel Neba said a majority of Cameroonians are reluctant to register because they believe Biya, who has been in power for over four decades, wants to rule until he dies.

"We know that Paul Biya will still win the elections. In America Joe Biden is 82 and he abandoned his candidacy to a younger person, but in Cameroon, Paul Biya who is 91 wants to continue to be president forever, and that is why the youths are not eager to go and register to {qualify} to vote," he said.

Cameroon opposition and civil society say citizens should emulate the example of Chad, which has more than 8.2 million registered voters among a population of about 18 million. They say Cameroonians should also get inspired by Senegal where over 7 million people in a population of about 17.5 million registered for the West African state's March 19 presidential elections.

Opposition and civil society proponents say that the massive involvement of youth in Senegal made victory possible for 40-year-old Bassirou Diomaye Faye over 62-year-old Macky Sall, who was running for a third term as president in the West African country.

Cameroon government officials assert Biya has won all presidential elections he contested since the return of multiparty politics in 1990. The government refutes opposition claims that Biya is planning to rig elections next year and warns civilians against what officials say is increasing hate speech ahead of the polls.

Opposition and civil society say the Cameroon government considers criticizing Biya hate language and threatens arrests.

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

This article was originally published on Voice of America.