By Black Star News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya is preparing to run for an eight term in office–even though he is 92.
Biya, who has been president in Cameroon since 1982, is now considered the favorite, especially after the country’s electoral body decided that opposition leader Maurice Kamto was ineligible to run in the upcoming election on October 12.
Kamto came in second in the 2018 election, to Biya.
The stated decision for removing Kamto was said to be because the Manidem party, who endorsed Kamto, also endorsed a second candidate, presumably precipitating an internal squabble.
Kamto called the ruling “arbitrary” and done for political reasons. Kamto, 71, also said, “The decision to rule me out of the 2025 presidential election was taken a long time ago…The regime in power hurried to set up a new president of MANIDEM as a candidate to artificially create multiple nominations.“
Human Rights Watch Africa researcher, Ilaria Allegrozzi, warned that “Excluding the most popular opponent from the electoral process will leave a shadow over whatever results are eventually announced.”
Hyppolite Meli Tiakouang, a lawyer Kamto’s legal team, said, “The decision of the Constitutional Council is based on political rather than legal grounds. Kamto is a victim of fraudulent maneuvers that aim at shutting down any opposition, laying the foundations for unfair elections.”
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