Coalition Is the Panacea for Opposition to Defeat Biya — Agbor Balla

Civil society advocate and human rights lawyer, Barrister Agbor Balla, has regretted the persisting disunity among the opposition in Cameroon, less than two months to the 2025 presidential election.

In his recent podcast, Agbor Balla Speaks, he says a coalition is the “panacea” for the opposition to defeat incumbent President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982.

“What I see, and I notice with most of these leaders is that all of them believe that they could be the president of this country, and it’s a good thing. It shows their ambition, it shows their drive to bring change in Cameroon. But come October 12 only one person can be the president of this country, meaning that they have to be realistic that all of them cannot win the elections,” he said.

He noted that the failure of recent coalition talks in Foumban and Yaoundé was due to ego among the opposition candidates who took part.

Opposition Disunity Threatens Electoral Success

Balla warned that disunity could lead to voter apathy and a missed opportunity for change.

He noted the collapse of recent coalition talks held in Foumban and Yaounde, attributing their failure to the egos of opposition leaders who took part in them.

“When you look at the demographics, when you look at where some of them are coming from, when you look at the weight, the might, the strength of your parties and the candidates individually. We have concluded with others that a coalition would be the panacea for them to defeat Mr Biya. Unfortunately some of them have their ego as big as Australia, bigger than the continent of Africa. They are not willing to talk to each other. They are talking across each other and even when they have meetings, it is for each and every one of them to remind all the others that he or she is the one who is going to be to be the president,” he said.

The lawyer expressed concern about the implications of this division in the upcoming election.

“So it’s unfortunate because Cameroonians have a lot of hope in the opposition. My fear is that if they fail to have a unique candidate, if they fail to come together, they would have disappointed millions of Cameroonians who have registered and want to vote. It might lead to voter apathy. A lot of people might decide not to vote because they believe, rightly or wrongly that without a coalition you cannot defeat the incumbent,” Balla added.

Major opposition leaders like Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), Bello Bouba Maïgari of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), and Cabral Libii of the Party for National Reconciliation of Cameroon (PCRN) did not participate in the coalition talks.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC) was only briefly involved.

Meanwhile, prominent opposition leader Maurice Kamto of the MANIDEM party, despite being disqualified from the presidential race, has also stayed away from coalition efforts.

Kamto continues to draw significant crowds and was barred from running because his party presented double candidates. The Constitutional Council upheld his disqualification by Elections Cameroon on August 5.

The absence of a unified opposition front comes at a time when President Biya, aged 92, is seeking an eighth term amid growing public frustration over issues like corruption, unemployment, and ongoing conflicts in the Far North and Anglophone Regions.

The failure to unite around a single candidate risks fragmenting the opposition vote, potentially strengthening the ruling CPDM’s grip on power.

Voter registration for this election increased from six million in 2018 to eight million, signaling public enthusiasm to participate in the election.

However Agbor Balla thinks that without unity, this momentum could wane, leading to frustration and lower turnout.

Over the past week, opposition leaders have been touring the country, selling their manifestos and positioning themselves as the change catalyst after 42 years of Paul Biya.