2025 Election: Kah Walla Wants CPDM Affiliates Dropped from ELECAM

By Tata Mbunwe

Edith Kah Walla, prominent politician and leader of the citizen movement Stand Up for Cameroon, is demanding that ruling party affiliates in the elections management body Elecam be replaced to ensure the integrity and transparency of the 2025 presidential election.

In a statement sent to MMI on Monday, Kah Walla, on behalf of citizens, regrets that the ruling CPDM party continues to have an oversight on the Constitutional Council, ELecam and the Ministry of Territorial Administration, which are all responsible for organizing, supervising or declaring election results.

“Ten (10) of the eleven (11) members of the Constitutional Council are directly affiliated with the CPDM, compromising its impartiality. In violation of Article 48 of the Constitution, the Council has refused to hear multiple electoral complaints, claiming lack of jurisdiction,” Kah Walla’s statement said.

“At least fourteen (14) of the eighteen (18) ELECAM board members are former or current CPDM members — a clear violation of Law No. 2012/001, Section 12(2) —demonstrating the absence of independence in the electoral management body,” she adds, demanding that all ELECAM board members or senior staff holding or having held party
positions be replaced.

The statement also demands that the Minister of Territorial Administration (MINAT), Paul Atanga Nji, be withdrawn from “all operational involvement in the electoral process”. This is because his dual role as central committee member of the ruling CPDM party compromises his independence to act as supervisory authority in the election.

“This dual position violates the principle of independence and impartiality required under Article 17(1) of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. Mr. Atanga Nji’s record of interference in opposition parties, partisan alliances, and threatening language toward political opponents underscores this breach.”

Minat plays a cross-section of roles in Cameroon. Aside from territorial governance, the structure legalizes political parties, NGOs, associations and supervises elections— including accrediting observers and signing polling results.

But the head of this organ is often a random ruling party politician appointed by the President, and is not required to be independent.

The current Minat boss, Atanga Nji, has faced accusations of engineering division within opposition parties, attacking free speech and threatening opposition leaders.

Last year, Atanga Nji banned the media from reporting on president Biya’s health and was later chastised by the Prime Minister for usurping the role of Minister of Communication.

Kah Walla’s statement invokes the Constitution, the Electoral Code, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It accuses Elecam, Minat, and the Constitutional Council of undermining democratic principles through partisan affiliations and operational failures.

Election Register Irregularities

The statement raises alarms over the voters’ register, which it says Elecam has failed to publish in violation of Article 80 of the Electoral Code.

Publicly available data reveals anomalies, including deceased persons and minors listed as voters, missing records of prominent figures like the President and First Lady, and hundreds of thousands of voters without photographs, particularly in the South, East, Adamaoua, and North regions.

Kah Walla also pointed to double registrations, unjustified removals, and irregular use of enrollment kits, noting that over 7.5 million Cameroonians lack identification documents, rendering uniform registration rates across regions implausible. Surveys in Yaoundé, Douala, Kribi, and Mora confirm these inconsistencies, compounded by past elections’ unexplained turnout spikes.

Reports of minors registered on the Electoral List surfaced in Cameroon earlier this year, with the ruling party accused of masterminding the registration of thousands of underaged children in the northern regions in an attempt to falsify the election.

The minimum voting age in Cameroon is 20, although the opposition and civil society have repeatedly demanded it should be lowered to 18 to allow for greater youth participation.

Alleged irregularities in the electoral registers have been a contentious issue since last year, after prominent opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, accused ELecam of fraud. He later sued the election management body for failing to publish the resmgisters but the court ruled out the case.

Disenfranchisement in Crisis Regions

The ongoing violence in the North West, South West, and Far North regions, according to Kah Walla, threatens universal suffrage, as guaranteed by Section 2 of the Electoral Code.

Armed separatists’ lockdowns and improvised explosive devices, coupled with mass arrests by government forces, have created unsafe voting conditions.

“No communication has been issued by ELECAM, MINAT, or the Constitutional Council regarding citizens’ safety. This silence endangers the exercise of the right to vote and further undermines the integrity of the process,” the statement notes.

Anglophone separatists have been enforcing a lockdown in the NW and SW regions since September 8, when schools resumed nationwide. The lockdown has kept shops and schools closed, with transport activities halted in most parts of the two regions for the fifth week now.

They have also warned against elections taking place in the Anglophone Regions, forcing authorities to relocate several polling stations to safer areas.

Observers believe insecurity will greatly hamper voter turnout and exclude most people in these regions from exercising their rights.

Structural Flaws in Election System

The statement condemns Cameroon’s first-past-the-post system, which allows presidents to be elected with less than 20 percent of potential voters, stifling democratic legitimacy.

Additionally, Kah Walla said the 15-day delay for result proclamation under Section 137 of the Electoral Code has historically facilitated fraud.

Her demands, on behalf of citizens, include adopting a two-round majority system, introducing a single ballot paper, and shortening the result-proclamation period to 48–72 hours.

Among actionable reforms she outlined include replace partisan ELECAM and Constitutional Council members, require neutrality declarations, and ensure opposition representation at polling stations.

She also wants the full register and polling-station lists published 15 days before the election, and address anomalies like the 2024 Noun case and 120,000 deleted registrations.

The statement also asks the government to announce an electoral ceasefire, publish a security plan, and coordinate with humanitarian actors to protect voters; adopt a two-round system, livestream vote counts, and expand diaspora voting rights.

“We hereby call upon the competent authorities to immediately institute corrective measures and binding transparency commitments prior to and throughout polling and tabulation,” the statement declared.

The 2025 presidential election is proving very competitive. Incumbent President Paul Biya is facing 11 challengers, including two former allies who resigned from the government and accused Biya of failing to meet the aspirations of citizens.