BREAKING NEWS – ELECAM Bars Maurice Kamto from 2025 Cameroon Presidential Race

From the 83 files examined since 22 July, the most startling absentee is Prof. Maurice Kamto, flag-bearer of the socialist MANIDEM party and, until today, Paul Biya’s best-polled challenger. Actu CamerounJeune Afrique

“The Board has applied the law with rigour; dossiers that did not meet statutory requirements were rejected,” Egbe said, citing missing endorsements and “party representation anomalies” but refusing to take questions.

Who made the cut?

Why Kamto was bounced

Internal minutes seen by Cameroon Concord indicate ELECAM referenced Article 121(1) of the 2012 Electoral Code, which bars parties with no elected officials from sponsoring a candidate. MANIDEM holds no seats, and the Board ruled Kamto’s last-minute switch from the MRC “did not cure the defect.” Kamto’s team counters that the article does not apply to presidential races and vows an immediate appeal.

Christian Penda Ekoka, Kamto strategist: “This is lawfare, not law. ELECAM just stole the people’s choice.”

Instant street backlash

By 15:00 local time, hundreds of young riders and street vendors had blocked the Ndokoti and Akwa intersections in Douala, chanting “No Kamto, no election!” and taunting Interior Minister “Peter” Atanga Nji in reference to his trademark threats. Riot police fired tear-gas canisters but crowds regrouped, waving placards that read “Publish the voter roll first.” Videos of the standoff flooded X within minutes, trending under #KamtoOut. (Clips verified by Concord’s newsroom.)

Social-media verdict: “Incompétent or irrecevable—again”

Thousands of posts mirrored the same dark joke: the Constitutional Council—which yesterday declared itself “not competent” to audit the voter register—will now miraculously find competence to confirm Kamto’s exclusion. Typical comment by Ndefru Brown: “The court’s only vocabulary is ‘irrecevable’.” Screenshots show variations of that refrain shared over 20,000 times in two hours.

Government stance

Contacted by Concord, a senior official at the Ministry of Territorial Administration said:

“The Republic is standing. Anyone unhappy should follow lawful channels.”

Interior Minister Atanga Nji earlier this month warned that “those who refuse to board the train will be left behind.” The Guardian

Next legal steps

Under Article 134 of the Code, parties have 72 hours to lodge petitions with the Constitutional Council. MANIDEM lawyers will file at first light on Monday. The Council, chaired by Clément Atangana, must rule within 10 days—yet its five-year record shows it has never overturned an ELECAM rejection.

What it means for the race

• Opposition fracture: Without Kamto, the anti-Biya vote splinters between Cabral Libii, Akere Muna and Joshua Osih.

• Diaspora flash-point: The CODE network warned embassies last week it would block overseas polling if Kamto were struck off the ballot. Today’s decision activates that threat.

• Risk of street escalation: Security sources tell Concord the army’s Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) is on standby around Yaoundé and Douala in case protests spread.

Concord Comment

ELECAM insists it merely applied technical rules, but the optics are devastating: the candidate topping every independent poll has been sidelined by a body already accused of hiding the voter roll. With youth unemployment above 30 % and 92-year-old Paul Biya seeking an eighth term, the message many Cameroonians hear is simple—elections are for show, power is negotiated elsewhere. Whether the streets of Douala mark the start of a broader pushback, or fade under tear gas and fatigue, will shape the final hundred days to 12 October.

For now, the ball is in Clément Atangana’s court—and few expect him to surprise.