The South West Regional Delegation of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) says 408,820 people in the region have enrolled in the voter’s list as of April 24, 2025, as the country prepares for presidential elections in October.
Among the registered voters are 219,061 men and 159,206 women, according to the ELECAM Regional Delegate, Zofoa Njoya Sake.
He disclosed these statistics in Buea during the 3rd regional platform for permanent consultation between ELECAM and stakeholders of the electoral process on April 24.
The pre-election meeting assembled ELECAM stakeholders, administrative officials, youth, and civil society representatives, as well as journalists, for a consultation.
Mr Sake, who took over the office on March 6, 2024, said they have seen an increase in voter registration in the region this year.
As of April 24, their records indicate that the South West has enrolled 16,969 potential voters since January this year. This total is higher than 9,578 people enrolled within the same period last year.
The statistics indicate a higher level of political participation among men, compared to women, with 6,673 men enrolled this year as compared to 10,236 men.
He urged eligible voters who are yet to enrol to take responsibility, secure their voter’s cards and wait for a chance in October to vote.
“I appeal to the entire stakeholders of the electoral process, especially in the political party family, to continue to sensitize and educate those youth who are still dragging their feet. To take it as a challenge to be enlisted on the electoral role and choose their leaders when the time comes,” he said.
Ahead of Historic Elections
Cameroon is currently gearing up for a presidential election that will see several candidates challenging incumbent President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country since 1982. The opposition is counting on heavy voter registration to kick out the long-serving regime.
Ahead of the vote, ELECAM has multiplied voter registration booths across the country, with the hope of enrolling mostly young people, who have historically been apathetic during past elections in Cameroon.
In the last election of 2018, President Biya secured 71 percent of the vote, while the turnout in the two Anglophone Regions reached only 10 percent, affected by an armed conflict that has persisted since 2017.
Threats from independence-seeking separatists intimidated registered voters in the two regions, preventing them from casting their ballots in the election.
