Cameroonians will head to the polls on October 12, 2025 for a presidential election that may prove to be one of the most consequential in the country’s history.
President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country for nearly 43 years, also declared his candidacy, seeking an eighth term.
If victorious, Biya, 92, will extend his rule until 2032, marking half a century in power.
Biya served as Director of the Civil Cabinet and Secretary General of the Presidency in 1968, became Prime Minister in 1979, and succeeded Ahmadou Ahidjo as President in 1982.
The upcoming election, whether it results in continuity or transition, could unsettle the fragile balance that has underpinned Cameroon’s political order for decades. Ethnic and regional grievances, already simmering, could boil over.
Biya’s announcement on X (formerly Twitter) that he would run again cited “numerous and insistent” calls from citizens at home and abroad.
But in Yaoundé, many residents told the BBC they were afraid to speak openly about politics.
Several prominent opposition figures including Issa Tchiroma a member of Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FNSC), a government turned opposition party, and Bello Bouba Maigari, a former Prime Minister, Akere Muna, Cabral Libii, and Joshua Osih, have also declared their candidacies.
However, Biya’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, continues to back him as their flagbearer.
