Cameroon politics and the reality we often ignore

Greeting Steemit Family

Politics is something I have never really cared much about. But then again, you will find politics in every sector of life. How you want things to favor you often shapes your understanding of politics.

What I mean is. If you are on the winning side, you tend to explain everything in a way that justifies why things are going that direction. But if you are on the opposing side, nothing good can come from the ruling side. It’s a simple reality, and that is why I always say human beings are naturally selfish. Everyone wants to protect his or her own interests and benefit from their current position.

Someone might say, "I'm doing it for the people," yet at the same time, they are investing more in their family than in the people. In politics, it is always about interests. No matter the side you belong to, you have something to protect.

Around the world, we tend to focus only on "politics up there" and ignore the roles we are playing ourselves. This year, Cameroonians will be heading to the polls to elect a president who will lead for the next 7 years. The voter registration period is over, and we are now at the stage where candidates are filing their documents.

As of the time of this post, 25 candidates have submitted their paperwork. But this is just the beginning, filing to become a candidate doesn’t mean you have been validated. What they currently have is just a receipt confirming their documents have been submitted.

The elections body, ELECAM, will now go through the documents, and at the same time, the Constitutional Council will also carry out its review. The deadline for submitting a candidacy is July 21, 2025, and more candidates are expected to file before that date. Once this stage is completed, we will know the list of validated candidates, who will then be expected to pay 30 million FCFA to fully confirm their candidacy.

Here is my concern. We already have 25 candidates, and more are still expected. I estimate we might end up with about 30, and by the time validation is done, maybe 25 will be approved to contest. This is similar to what happened during the last presidential election, with numerous candidates running for the same office.

Now, I’m not saying having many candidates is a problem. But in a country where people on the streets are constantly crying for a change in leadership, this kind of approach is wrong. Cameroon’s politics is very tricky, and you really need to sit and watch to understand it.
We all know that strong institutions build strong systems. Take, for example, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), the ruling party. I began looking into this party in 2011 to try to understand why they have managed to hold on to power for so long.

Here’s the truth, many Cameroonians on the street don’t want to accept it, but I will say it. CPDM has been winning elections in Cameroon since 2011. I can not speak for anything before that year. From what I have observed, CPDM is currently the only true grassroots political party in Cameroon. Its structure is clear, and they make every militant feel important.

They have what they call “sections,” each with a leader. The party is broken down into small units, making the gap between the grassroots and the top leadership very small. This makes it easy to have committed members and sure voters in every election. Now, I’m not here to campaign for CPDM. But this is a well-structured party. Politics is not just about large crowds, market square rallies, or loud opinions on social media. Unfortunately, many other parties only become active when elections are near. That’s when they start organizing rallies and trying to paint the ruling party black. Wrong approach.

Why do I say that? Most people on the streets of Cameroon have not registered to vote. They keep saying that the ruling party will win with or without their votes. These are the same people crying for a change of power and showing support for opposition parties. So when you see large support on social media, it gives the illusion of strength, but in reality, most of these people aren’t eligible voters.

Cameroon has over 20 million people of voting age. But in the last election, ELECAM published a list showing only 4 million registered voters. I mentioned earlier how CPDM has an estimated over a million sections and subsections across the country. Each section is headed by a president who is almost guaranteed to vote for the party. Now, imagine 2 million voters being contested by over 20 candidates.

Let’s be honest, how does an opposition party expect to win an election under those conditions?
As of now, ELECAM has not yet published the official voter list, so I can't say for sure what will happen. But once I see the list, I bet I can predict who the winner of the upcoming election will be.

I just hope that Cameroonians won’t stay at home, then when the current ruling party wins, they will take to the streets in frustration. If you want to win an election, win it well. You can’t claim to be cheated if you didn’t show up to vote. And please, stop trying to win the incumbent by a slim margin. It does not work that way.

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Cheers
Thanks for dropping by
@fombae