Pre-election dispute: Failed candidates seek proper arbitration

Following the contested publication of 13 successful candidates, out of the 83 applications submitted to Elections Cameroon (Elecam), will the 35 appeals filed on July 28, 2025, with the Constitutional Council, which is the last resort by law, truly have a favorable response?
Since the publication by Elecam of the provisional list of candidates selected for the October 12 election, analyses have been underway. In some languages, "Elections Cameroon, which acted on behalf of the Yaoundé regime, has proven that it is an incompetent body. Manidem, the UPC ... were not the only political parties to register two candidates; there was also the Rdpc. But why should this body not reject all double applications? By retaining Mr. Biya's candidacy, this is an injustice," a law professor argued on a television show. However, if in the case of the UPC, we have more than three factions, this is not the case with Anicet Ekané's Manidem, where the imposture of Dieudonné Yebga, who had been excluded from this political party since 2018, is reported. The
arbitration of Clément Atangana
It must be said that, of the 35 appeals filed with the Constitutional Council, the Manidem file which invested Professor Maurice Kamto, candidate for the presidential election of October 12, is attracting more attention from a large part of the national and international community. Coming second in the 2018 presidential election, the former president of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) is, according to many observers, the main adversary who scares the political lieutenants of Paul Biya, aged 92. On the other hand, although the file of the candidate invested by Manidem does not present any incongruities, some people believe that the 35 appeals awaiting arbitration by Clément Atangana could be deemed "inadmissible" as in 2018. "Contrary to what some people claim, we know that the president of the Constitutional Council is a man experienced in the matter, and he will do his job well. Some candidacy files will be validated, and the real challenge will be at the ballot box," we learned.
However, while waiting for the Constitutional Council to break its silence on August 4, let us note that even if the voter registration rate remains low compared to the size of the voting-age population, this election, which is seeing a strong mobilization of all social classes, proves the determination to achieve change for a new Cameroon.