2018 Cameroonian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 7 October 2018.[1][2]

2018 Cameroon presidential election

7 October 2018

Nominee Paul Biya Maurice Kamto Cabral Libii Party RDPC MRC Univers Popular vote 2,521,934 503,384 221,995 Percentage 71.28% 14.23% 6.28%

President before election Paul Biya RDPC Elected President Paul Biya RDPC

Background

The previous presidential elections on 9 October 2011 saw incumbent president Paul Biya elected for another seven-year term following a 2008 constitutional amendment that removed term limits, allowing Biya to run again.[3] Going into the 2018 elections Cameroon experienced unrest in the English-speaking portions of the country where separatists have attempted to create the state of Ambazonia. The worst of the unrest occurred in Manyu where several Western countries issued travel warnings to their citizens.[4] The Social Democratic Front, a party that traditionally performs well in the English-speaking portions of the country, has been vocal in their criticism of the handling of the unrest.[5] Biya has responded to the unrest by stating that he would like to see faster progress made on decentralization reforms that were begun in 2010 so that local regions would have more self governance.[6]

On 15 June 2018, the BBC obtained a copy of a letter from Paul Biya to the leader of Cameroon's Senate, appearing to request that the elections be postponed until October 2019.[7][8] In July President Biya announced that the election would be held on October 7, 2018.[9]

Electoral system

The President of Cameroon is elected by first-past-the-post voting; the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner with no requirement to achieve a majority.[10]

Candidates

Accepted

• Garga Haman Adji, leader of the Alliance for Democracy and Development[11]
• Paul Biya, incumbent president and candidate for the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement[12]
• Maurice Kamto, candidate for the Cameroon Renaissance Movement[11]
• Cabral Libii, journalist and law professor at University of Yaoundé II; candidate for Univers[11][13]
• Serge Espoir Matomba, Douala city councilman and leader of United People for Social Renovation[14]
• Akere Muna, candidate for Now![11]
• Frankline Njifor Afanwi, candidate for the National Citizens' Movement of Cameroon[11]
• Adamou Ndam Njoya, candidate for the Cameroon Democratic Union[11]
• Joshua Osih, selected as the Social Democratic Front candidate on 24 February 2018[15]

Did not run

• Samuel Eto'o; the former footballer was rumoured to be considering running.[16]
• Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, French comedian of Cameroonian descent[17]
• Bernard Muna[18]
• Bernard Njonga; leader of Believe in Cameroon[19][17]

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Paul Biya	Cameroon People's Democratic Movement	2,521,934	71.28
	Maurice Kamto	Cameroon Renaissance Movement	503,384	14.23
	Cabral Libii	Univers	222,020	6.28
	Joshua Osih	Social Democratic Front	118,706	3.36
	Adamou Ndam Njoya	Cameroon Democratic Union	61,220	1.73
	Garga Haman Adji	Alliance for Democracy and Development	55,048	1.56
	Frankline Njifor Afanwi	National Citizens' Movement of Cameroon	23,687	0.67
	Serge Espoir Matomba	United People for Social Renovation	19,704	0.56
	Akere Muna	Now!	12,262	0.35
Invalid/blank votes			52,716	–
Total			3,590,681	100
Registered voters/turnout			6,667,754	53.85
Source: Camerlex

Aftermath

On 28 January 2019, Maurice Kamto was arrested in Douala while at a supporter's house.[20]

References

1. Cameroon: Calls grow for Biya to run for presidency in 2018 Africa News, 23 March 2017
2. New Party To Challenge Biya In 2018 Presidential Election Cameroon Post, 23 May 2017
3. Cameroon parliament extends Biya's term limit France 24, 11 April 2008
4. U.S., U.K. and Canada issue travel warning for Cameroon's southwest region Africa News, 23 December 2017
5. Cameroon Opposition MPs Demand Open Debate on Anglophone Crisis VOA News, 24 November 2017
6. Cameroon President Vows to 'Deal' with Separatists Voice of America, 1 January 2018
7. "Africa this week: Mother of Boko Haram leader laments his 'bad' behaviour". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
8. "Cameroon seeks to delay elections - 3newsgh". 3newsgh. 2018-06-16. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
9. "Cameroon to hold presidential election on October 7". News24. July 7, 2018.
10. Cameroon IFES
11. "Liste des candidats à l'élection présidentielle 2018". August 7, 2018.
12. FEATURE: As Paul Biya Looks to Running Again in 2018, Has He delivered on his 2011 electoral promises? Cameroon Journal, 21 August 2017
13. Cameroun: Cabral Libii sera candidate à la présidentielle s'il est le gagnant de la primaire CMRB
14. Cameroun : qui est Serge Espoir Matomba, candidat déclaré à la présidentielle 2018? Jeune Afrique, 13 June 2017
15. "Joshua Osih is SDF Presidential candidate". Journal du Cameroun. February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
16. Samuel Eto'o set to challenge Paul Biya in 2018 Cameroon Concord, 20 July 2017
17. Cameroun : qui sont les candidats déclarés à la présidentielle de 2018? Jeune Afrique, 25 October 2017
18. Cameroun – Akere Muna : « Pourquoi je suis candidat » Jeune Afrique, 10 October 2017
19. Bernard NJONGA se raconte : "Après 30 ans de lutte citoyenne, Je Continue..." Believe in Cameroon, 22 December 2016
20. "Cameroon arrests opposition leader who claims he won 2018 election". The Guardian. January 29, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.