The Constitutional Council’s decision to reject the presidential candidacy of Professor Maurice Kamto has sparked sharp political backlash, with his party, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), and his political sponsor in the race, the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), condemning the ruling as a blow to democracy.
The decision, handed down on Tuesday 5 August 2025, removes Kamto from the race for the 12 October presidential election in a move his allies have described as politically motivated and legally unfounded.
Prof Maurice Kamto, a former Minister Delegate of Justice and one‑time presidential candidate, was not on the original list of 13 contenders approved by the Election governing body ELECAM on 26 July. His political comeback bid was made possible after MANIDEM invested him as its official candidate, filing under the party’s name.
However, the Ministry of Territorial Administration challenged this designation, alleging that MANIDEM’s leadership had been taken over by another individual. The Constitutional Council accepted this position, ruling that Kamto’s nomination was invalid because it did not come from the party’s legally recognised leadership.
The MRC and MANIDEM have rejected this reasoning, calling it a fabrication aimed at keeping one of the ruling party’s strongest challengers out of the contest.
In a strongly worded statement, MANIDEM National President Anicet Georges Ekane denounced the ruling as “an authentic political coup d’état” executed by a Constitutional Council allegedly stacked with loyalists of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM).
“There is no legal basis for rejecting the candidacy of Maurice Kamto, apart from the falsehood fabricated by the Ministry of Territorial Administration to punish us for daring to give popular aspirations a chance,” Anicet Ekane declared.
He accused the CPDM regime, the Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji, the Electoral Commission of ELECAM, and the Constitutional Council of orchestrating a political plot to keep Kamto out of the race. MANIDEM vowed to consult with Kamto and its allies before announcing its next steps, while urging Cameroonians not to lose hope in the quest for political change.
The MRC, in its own communiqué signed by interim party leader Mamadou Mota, said it “regrets and takes note” of the decision, which it described as “nothing less than the negation of the democratic process.”
Calling for calm and restraint, Mota told supporters and sympathisers that the party’s vision remains unchanged: change in peace and through the ballot box.
“Nothing and no one will make us deviate from this vision,” he said, reiterating that the future of Cameroon must be built by its people in peace.
Kamto’s exclusion further reshapes the presidential race, already reduced from ELECAM’s 13 approved candidates to 12 following other disqualifications. It also deepens political tensions in a contest where opposition parties have long accused the ruling establishment of manipulating electoral processes to maintain its grip on power.
With the Constitutional Council’s decision being final, there is no further avenue for appeal. The final list of candidates is expected to be published by 11 August 2025.
For now, the MRC and MANIDEM are rallying supporters to remain engaged signalling that the fight over Cameroon’s political future will continue well beyond the courtroom.
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices Newsroom
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