Fury in Cameroon after opposition leader Maurice Kamto barred from October presidential election

There has been outrage in Cameroon over the disqualification of opposition leader Maurice Kamto from October’s presidential election. Of the 83 applications submitted to Elecam – the country’s election oversight body – only 13 were approved.  Africanews spoke to MRC head Ndong Christopher about the obstacles facing challengers to President Paul Biya.

For Ndong Christopher, Secretary-General of the opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon, or MRC, the decision to bar Kamto from running is aimed at removing a main rival to incumbent, President Paul Biya:

"Our candidate was arbitrarily refused to be shortlisted by Elecam. Elecam is violating the electoral code, the constitution of this country. So we noted and Cameroonians also noted that Elecam has been pressed to say something against the law. So we are very confident that the constitutional court, which is made of magistrates of high standards, will look at the law what is required of the presidential election and look at the documents Maurice Kamto gives."

Appeal

Rejected candidates had 48 hours to contest the decision. Maurice Kamto's team says it complied with this deadline and filed its appeal on time. The decision is expected in two months and, for now, Christopher remains cautious.  

"We are not excepting much from them but we are saying that Maurice Kamto's candidature is suffering from nothing against the law, the law is in our side. And if the constitutional council is put by President Paul Biya, his mission is to ensure the regularity and application of the law as it is," Christopher told Africanews. "So we are expecting that all the documents, which are only four in number, Maurice Kamto will be validated if the constitutional council is taking up its responsability."

Pretext

Without sufficient parliamentary support, Kamto ran under the banner of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy, or MANIDEM.  Elecam says MANIDEM supported another candidate and therefore can’t support Kamto.

That argument doesn't hold water, says Christopher:

"We are saying CPDM has several lists, UPC has several lists, UNIVER has several lists, MANIDEM has several lists. Why only Maurice Kamto and MANIDEM when other people have several lists? There's some degree of inequity, and of course hatred, injustice. We are going to look at the lower court, because the court is very reasonable." 

The presidential election is scheduled for 12 October. Alongside Paul Biya's candidacy for an eighth term, those of Cabral Libii of the PCRN and Josuah Osih of the SDF have also been validated. The Constitutional Council's decision regarding Maurice Kamto is now eagerly awaited.