President Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for 42 years, has lost his key political ally in the country’s Muslim-majority North Region, Bello Bouba Maigari.
The 78-year-old Minister of Tourism and Leisure has declared his candidacy for the upcoming 2025 presidential election, ending a coalition that has granted Biya thousands of votes from the North Region.
Bello Bouba is leader of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), which has backed President Paul Biya’s candidacy since the 2004 presidential election.
Founded in 1991, the UNDP is the second most influential political party (with seven MPs) in Cameroon’s National Assembly, after the CPDM.
Its move to end its partnership with President Biya could significantly reduce Biya’s influence in the North, coupled with the recent resignation of Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Minister of Employment and another key Biya ally in the North Region.
The UNDP’s decision to not back President Paul Biya at this year’s presidential election was announced by Bello Bouba Maigari at the party’s central committee convention at the Yaounde Conference Centre.
It was received with applause from hundreds of party members who had flocked to the venue for the event.
The convention started with much anticipation as UNDP militants began chanting Bello Bouba’s candidacy for Presidential election hours before he arrived at the event.
While the official agenda of the convention was undisclosed, multiple sources within the party suggested that Bello Bouba may resign from government and declare his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election.
How, Minister Bouba did not state whether he was leaving the government completely or if he would stand for the 2025 election.
The last time the UNDP party contested a presidential election in Cameron was in 1992.
Bello Bouba was a candidate and he came third with 19.22 percent of votes, behind the SDF and the CPDM.
The party boycotted the presidential election in 1997.
However, it has continued to participate in municipal and parliamentary elections despite its leader having formed a coalition with the Biya government in 1997.
Bello Bouba, who was allegedly brought in to weaken the opposition SDF party, has held several positions, including Minister of Industries, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Minister of Transport, and now Minister of Tourism and Leisure since 2011.
Before his alliance with Biya, Bouba had been in government since 1977, holding key positions and ending with the post of Prime Minister between 1982 and 1983.
He went into exile following allegations that he participated in a failed 1994 coup d’état against Paul Biya. He later formed the UNDP in 1991.
His party now has seven elected Members of Parliament.
By announcing that his party will contest the election, it is but an indication that he has broken the long-standing alliance with the CPDM.
If Bello Bouba Maigari declares his candidacy, it could mark a turning point both for his party and for the country’s political landscape ahead of the 2025 presidential election, in which President Paul Biya’s intentions remain uncertain.
Tata Mbunwe contributed to this report
