Incumbent President Paul Biya of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais, RDPC) won Cameroon’s presidential election, held on 12 October, extending his rule to an eighth consecutive term. According to official results, Biya won 53.7 per cent of votes, ahead of Issa Tchiroma of the Cameroon National Salvation (Front pour le salut national du Cameroun, FSNC) with 35.2 per cent. Of the 12 candidates that contested the election, only one was a woman. Prominent opposition leader, Maurice Kamto was disqualified after the Constitutional Council rejected his candidacy in favour of a rival from the same party. Turnout was 57.8 per cent of the registered voters (up from 53.9 per cent in 2018). Several candidates disputed various aspects of the election and widespread perceptions of fraud among opposition supporters sparked violence. However, the Constitutional Council rejected all petitions challenging the poll and (in contrast to domestic monitors) observers from the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States found it to have been ‘conducted largely in accordance with…international standards.’     

Sources: The Constitutional Council of Cameroon, Africa Confidential, Jeune Afrique,  International IDEA, Pan African Visions   

At least 48 people were killed and hundreds arrested, as security agencies responded forcefully to opposition supporters protesting Cameroon’s disputed presidential election. Demonstrations broke out across several cities shortly after polling on 12 October, as supporters of opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma perceived the election was being rigged against Tchiroma, who had pre-emptively claimed victory. They intensified when incumbent Paul Biya was later officially declared to have won. Most of the civilians killed by the security agencies were shot or beaten. Some protesters were also violent, assaulting the police and gendarmes, looting and vandalising symbols of authority. At least three gendarmes died in the violence. Among those arrested were several opposition politicians. While post-electoral violence is not uncommon in Cameroon, the scale of the protests, fatalities and protester violence appear to set it apart from the unrest after the 2018 presidential election.           

Sources: International Crisis Group, Reuters, Human Rights Watch (1), Human Rights Watch (2), Africa Confidential, Associated Press News, Jeune Afrique 

On 5 March, Cameroon’s Bar Association (CBA) launched a three-day strike over what it described as ‘recurrent violence’ by the country’s security forces against lawyers. In its statement announcing the strike, the Bar Association referred to two recent cases, the first of which was brought to light by videos posted to social media on 1 March, capturing what it described as ‘police officers carrying out violence and other degrading and inhumane acts on a lawyer.’ The previous day, the CBA had been informed that another lawyer had been unlawfully detained by authorities in a bid to force him to retract a statement denouncing violations of his clients’ rights. Similar incidents were reported in September and November 2024 and the CBA claimed at the time that attacks by the police and gendarmerie against lawyers were becoming the norm. 

Sources: Conférence Internationale des Barreaux/Cameroon Bar Association, Jeune Afrique, Human Rights Watch  

Cameroon’s government has closed dozens of churches in the country’s capital, Yaoundé, as part of a major operation to shut down unauthorised places of worship. The operation was launched in the fourth district of Yaoundé in mid-February, and by the end of the month 188 of the 615 churches in the district were reported to have been closed, with revivalist churches particularly affected. In justifying the action, officials cited public complaints about noise pollution, fraud and abuses against congregants. Under a policy of ‘administrative tolerance’, the government had previously allowed hundreds of unregistered churches to operate. The power to approve the registration of religious associations in Cameroon lies with the president and, according to the Ministry of Territorial Administration, only 48 denominations have been registered since 1952, with the most recent of these occurring in 2020. Hundreds of registration applications are thought to be pending presidential approval.       

Sources: Jeune Afrique, Voice of America, US State Department, Ministry of Territorial Administration, Actu Cameroun  

On 6 December, Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, signed orders halting the work of four civil society organisations, citing ‘illicit financing’, threats to the ‘integrity of the national financial system’ and a ‘lack of authorisation’. Two organisations were suspended for three months, another was permanently banned and a fourth, the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Réseau des Défenseurs des Droits Humains en Afrique Centrale, REDHAC), was the subject of both a suspension and a permanent ban. Nji said the moves were part of an effort to strengthen the country’s fight against financial crime. However, several rights organisations alleged that the orders were illegal and further undermined civic space in the country. REDHAC is one of Cameroon’s most active CSOs and, like Reach Out Cameroon (one of the suspended organisations), it has a strong international reputation for defending human rights and publishing reports critical of the government.

Sources: Ministry of Territorial Administration (1), Ministry of Territorial Administration (2), Jeune Afrique, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International