CIVICUS discusses Cameroon’s upcoming presidential election with Maximilienne Ngo Mbe, director of the Human Rights Defenders Network in Central Africa, a civil society organisation dedicated to protecting human rights defenders in the region.
President Paul Biya, aged 92 and in power since 1982, is seeking an eighth term in the 12 October presidential election. The Constitutional Council has approved only 12 of the 83 candidates who put themselves forward. Among those excluded is Maurice Kamto, the main opposition leader, further fuelling public mistrust in the fairness of the election. In response, civil society groups and young activists have organised peaceful protests in the capital, Yaoundé, to demand a transparent electoral process. Security forces have responded with teargas and arrests, but protests continue.
