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PoliticsCameroon

Cameroon awaits results of tense presidential election

Silja Fröhlich | Sandrine Blanchard | Bob Barry
October 13, 2025

With longtime President Paul Biya facing a divided opposition, more than 8 million Cameroonians voted. Though there was peace at the polls, critics question the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.

Cameroonian voters wait in line to collect their voting cards ahead of October 12 Cameroon presidential election
Cameroon's election is expected to return 92-year-old Paul Biya, the world's oldest serving head of state, to officeImage: Marco Longari/AFP

After Sunday's presidential election in Cameroon, the question now is whether nonagenarian Paul Biya — the oldest president in the world — will extend his term by another seven years. Facing him is a fragmented opposition that wants to break Biya's long-unshakable rule in Cameroon

Sunday's voting proceeded largely smoothly and without significant difficulties, Celestin Tabouli Succes, a journalist from the northern city of Maroua, told DW.

In a rare public appearance at a large rally in Maroua, the capital of Cameroon's Far North region, a week before the October 12 election, Biya promised to strengthen regional security, fight youth unemployment and improve the nation's infrastructure.

In Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, extra troops were deployed to protect the vote following threats to disrupt the election from separatist groups aiming to establish an independent state.

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Incidents in the north of Cameroon

"There were isolated incidents in the morning in some villages near the Nigerian border," Succes said. He added that affected polling stations had been relocated to protected places for security reasons.

"It was also noticeable that in the Far North — at the few polling stations I was able to visit — only representatives of three parties were present: the ruling party Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC), and the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) of Bello Bouba Maigari," Succes said.

"Other parties participating in the election were not represented at the polling stations in Maroua," he said.

About 8 million citizens, including over 34,000 overseas voters, were eligible to cast ballots at more than 31,000 polling stations. Cameroon is home to more than 29 million people, 13.7 million of whom are under 18, based on 2023 data from the United Nations

Kamto, considered Biya's strongest opponent, was excluded from the list of candidatesImage: AFP

Youth vote mobilized

Violet Fokum, a Cameroonian governance and elections analyst, told DW that there had been a "significant increase" in the number of registered voters.

"We have done a lot of awareness-raising so that people register to vote," she said. 

To ensure that voters' ballots remain unaltered and respected, Cameroonian civil society had already mobilized independently before the elections, said Michele Ndoki, a renowned lawyer and committed civil society representative.

"Especially remarkable is the voluntary engagement of many young people who developed digital solutions to transparently document and make accessible the election information collected on site," Ndoki said.

Cameroonians want change

Although the results are expected within the next 15 days and there are no voter surveys, analysts predict a victory for Biya.

If reelected, the 92-year-old would be 99 at the end of his term.

Biya came to power in 1982, after the resignation of Cameroon's first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, and has ruled ever since. He has been declared winner of seven consecutive elections.

Cameroon's best-known opposition candidate, Maurice Kamto, was previously excluded from the election after the commission declared in July that his party had violated the nomination rules.

Critics condemned this decision as politically motivated, saying it was a setback for hopes of a free, fair and transparent election. 

Biya's main competitors are Bello Bouba Maigari, former tourism minister, and Issa Tchiroma Bakary, former employment minister.

"This election comes at a time when the whole nation aspires for change," Tchiroma said after voting in his hometown of Garoua, in the North region.

Tchiroma urged voters to remain vigilant and make sure that the results announced by the Constitutional Council reflect the result from ballot boxes. In a sign of rising tensions around the election, a Reuters journalist saw security forces fire teargas to disperse hundreds of Tchiroma's supporters, who tried to gather around his residence in Garoua after the area was cordoned off.

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Biya victory 'likely'

"A victory for Paul Biya is likely," said Marie Flore Mboussi, a member of Maurice Kamto's Cameroon Renaissance Movement who supports opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary.

"Mr. Biya currently controls the electoral system," Mboussi said. "The Constitutional Council, which is responsible for announcing the results, has eight members, all of whom are appointed by members of the ruling party and their chairmen."

Mboussi said Biya would only win "because the Constitutional Council, which is devoted to his cause, will declare him the winner.”

She said a victory for the opposition would be well-deserved.

"The opposition has worked hard during this election and has mobilized its supporters," Mboussi said.

"No one has mobilized more supporters than Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Cabral Libii," she said. "So it is only fair that, in view of all this, the opposition deserves to win this election. But, as we are aware of what is going on, we are aware of the RDPC's stranglehold on the electoral system, we cannot say that the most likely outcome will be a victory for the opposition."

In about two weeks, Cameroonians will know whether Biya's rule will be over after 43 years — or if he will enter an eighth term.

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Edited by: Keith Walker

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