Cameroon: Former Paul Biya ally joins Presidential bid at election

Cameroonians are heading to the polls this month in an election that may bring an end to the second-longest reigning President in the world, Paul Biya, as close ally Beloboumama Egari stands against him at the ballot box, according to Africanews, October 2.

8 million people in the country are expected to head to the polls on October 12, in an election that could decide whether or not the incumbent, Paul Biya, the world’s oldest President at 92, will be reelected.

Biya has been Cameroon’s President for 43 years since he rose to power in 1982, after serving as  Prime Minister. Biya constitutionally succeeded his predecessor, announced his intention earlier this year to stand for another term in office.

His decision has drawn the ire of many who are disillusioned with the current state of politics in Cameroon, and President Biya’s bid for reelection has been challenged in court.

Now, one of his old allies is challenging him in the upcoming election. Egari, who is 80 years old, said that his party voted to stand at the election back in June 2025.

“My party, the UNDP [National Union for Democracy and Progress], convened its decision-making bodies on June 21, and we decided to present ourselves in this election,”

The candidate has dismissed critics who express concern about his age, believing that the moment has come to hand over the keys to Cameroon to a younger generation of politicians. Egari has instead chosen to frame his many decades in politics as an asset to rely on, given his wealth of experience.

“If you are lucky to live long, you also have the chance to learn, such has been my case. I thank the Lord for allowing me to be on the Cameroonian political scene for several decades.”

Throughout the span of Beloboumama Egari’s political career, he has occupied senior positions that he believes grant him a unique set of skills that would allow him to govern Cameroon with a vision only a man of his experience would allow.

“Having experience both as a government leader and as someone who also spent at least six years in the National Assembly gave me an experience that I believe is rare in our country,” Egari said, speaking to local media.

The Presidential hopeful has laid out his main priorities for government, from agriculture and healthcare to infrastructure and education. With education, it seems, touching on a great concern of his, saying, “After more than 60 years of sovereignty as a nation, we still have children who go to school under a tree.”

Egari is leading the UNDP campaign as their presidential candidate, but he does not approach the path to government with a clean record, having served in previous administrations as a government minister. The difference now, he believes, is that his party has a better chance to deliver for the Cameroonian people. Though his critics maintain that he is partly to blame for the current state of the country, Egari says that his record in government and his choice to participate in them were conducted on agreed-upon government programmes.

The UNDP and Egari himself are calling for the greater independence of the nation’s institutions.

One such body stands to be the biggest obstacle to overcome this election, Cameroon’s Constitutional Council. Throughout recent decades, it has been criticised for its lack of independence, a problematic situation for any would-be challenger such as the UNDP, as the body will play a major role in confirming the election results.

Egari has expressed his hope that it will obey Cameroonian law and be true to the election results.

But this election is far from a two-horse race, with a large variety of candidates campaigning, including a ‘consensus candidate,’ who has support from the Union of Change. Egari’s status as a veteran politician and campaigner perhaps means he has been all too close to political games being played behind the curtain, as he dismisses the selection of candidates, describing it as illegitimate.

With less than two weeks to go till the polls open across Cameroon, Egari certainly faces an uphill battle. In a country eager for a change in direction, his reform promises, coupled with unbridled political experience, could make him a vessel for change in the eyes of the public.

Nothing is guaranteed at this point in time, but if Egari and the UNDP stay the course and offer a genuine alternative, their campaign may be just enough to secure the keys to Yaoundé.

Africanews, Maghrebi.org