When Cameroon’s “independent” ELECAM campaigns for Biya in Banyo

A referee wearing the jersey of one team

By law, ELECAM is supposed to be an independent election management body, charged with registering voters, supervising campaigns, and ensuring fairness. Instead, its deputy boss is on stage in Banyo waving the green, red and yellow of the CPDM, urging votes for the very man whose stay in power ELECAM is meant to regulate. Imagine a World Cup referee blowing the whistle while sprinting in the same jersey as the striker he should be judging. That is Cameroon in 2025.

Dictatorship in broad daylight

This is not an isolated slip. Under Paul Biya, who has ruled for more than 43 years, the institutions meant to safeguard democracy have been captured. The Constitutional Council validates the regime’s every whim. ELECAM plays the role of organiser and cheerleader. Meanwhile, security forces disperse opposition rallies and close venues at will. And when protest arises, the official answer is always the same: tear gas and bans.

Fraud as national tradition

From ghost voters and minors registered in Banyo to ballot-box stuffing in Douala and Yaoundé, Cameroon’s elections have long been exercises in pre-scripted theatre. Results are announced with military precision: Biya always wins with “comfortable” margins, while opposition candidates exhaust themselves in futile appeals. The spectacle is polished enough to fool no one, but tolerated enough to keep power rotating within the same circle.

Why independence matters

In real democracies, election commissions are non-partisan. Their members resign or recuse themselves if they so much as hint at political bias. In Cameroon, they campaign openly, reminding the public that the rules are made not to guarantee fairness, but to protect the incumbent. This makes a mockery of Biya’s favourite slogan — Paix, Travail, Patrie — for peace cannot grow on fraudulent soil, and patriotism cannot thrive when the vote is strangled.

For more political analysis, visit the Cameroon Concord Politics section.