Yaoundé: Government establishes and approves 40 political parties ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.

It is no longer a secret. Paul Biya's country has 369 legalized political parties. At the end of last week, the government unveiled the list of the latest entrants. 40 new formations are making their debut in the Cameroonian political landscape. They are approved to "enrich political debate and encourage the expression of freedoms." The role of the 37 new French-speaking parties and the three English-speaking ones is to participate in the "animation of a contradictory and constructive political debate," as specified by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji.

Before these political parties, 329 others are registered in the national political file. They have been approved over time since the return to multipartyism in 1990 to play the same role and make the same contribution. However, only about a dozen political parties stand out for their performance and activity on the ground.

In the National Assembly, only eight parties are represented. Following the legislative elections of February 9, 2020, the RDPC won 152 seats, the UNDP 07, the SDF 05, the PCRN 05, the UDC 04, the FSNC 03, the MDR 02, and the UMS 02. In the Senate, in addition to the RDPC, which occupies 95% of seats, we find the ANDP, the MDR, the UPC, the SDF, and the UNDP. The reality is almost the same for municipal and regional elections.

This is because, apart from the RDPC, which is present in all the districts of the 10 regions, other parties have a still limited presence. Some have a communal or regional base, or even influence in two to four regions. Some remain present in a friendly or family circle. All are more or less active as elections approach. It is also during this period that several new parties emerge.

Thus, this multiplication of political formations is rather unfavorable to the opposition, which continues to fragment. Parties lose influential members, and in some cases, they split into several factions, further weakening them in the face of the ruling party, which works to consolidate its leadership every day.