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29, October 2024
Race For Etoudi: Which Path for Maurice Kamto? 0
The Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) has given Maurice Kamto, its declared candidate for the 2025 presidential election, the freedom to decide how he will formally present his candidacy. However, Cameroon’s Constitution offers him three potential paths: securing an endorsement from the MRC, obtaining a nomination from another party, or running as an independent candidate.
This question arises due to the MRC’s boycott of the 2020 local elections, which left the party without elected officials. According to the Constitution, only parties with elected representatives can formally endorse a candidate. Although Kamto argues that elected officials have since joined the MRC—meaning the party could legally nominate him based on Cameroon’s lack of “binding mandates”—this interpretation is disputed. The Constitutional Council could potentially reject the MRC’s right to endorse a candidate under these circumstances.
Securing endorsement from a different party could be the safer route. Several parties within the Political Alliance for Change (APC), a coalition led by MP Jean-Michel Nintcheu, might be willing to endorse him, though the specific parties have not been named. If Kamto takes this route, he would likely choose a party open to an alliance with the MRC, allowing him to leverage the MRC’s political network for his campaign. The MRC has even allocated a confidential campaign budget to support Kamto’s run. “If Maurice Kamto goes left, we all go left. If it’s right, we go right,” a source within the MRC stated.
Running as an independent candidate is the last and most challenging option. This would require Kamto to gather 300 signatures from prominent individuals across Cameroon’s ten regions, including members of parliament, senators, municipal and regional councilors, and traditional chiefs. Since most of these figures are affiliated with the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), this task would be especially difficult.
The clock is ticking, and Maurice Kamto shows no signs of urgency. Remarkably, his colleagues have not imposed a deadline for his decision.
Source: Sbbc