Maurice Kamto, president of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) and a declared candidate for the October 2025 presidential election, filed a petition with the Constitutional Council on Monday, July 14. Kamto's petition requests the annulment of the convocation of the electorate issued by President Paul Biya on July 11.
According to arguments presented by the Sylvain Souop Collective, a group of lawyers representing the MRC's interests, the national electoral register was not published in accordance with Article 80 of the Electoral Code. Consequently, they contend that neither voters nor potential candidates can clearly identify the electorate called to the polls for the October 12 vote.
Article 80 of Cameroon’s electoral law mandates Elections Cameroon (Elecam) to publish the national voter list, which the MRC claims has not been done. The lawyers highlight the ambiguity surrounding the updated register mentioned by Elecam, particularly in a July 10 radio and press release. In that release, the institution referenced an "upcoming clean-up" of the register.
Kamto's legal team posed the question, "Is the electorate made up of those currently registered? Or of a list resulting from a contradictory review process, followed by the ‘clean-up’ that has not yet taken place?"
This challenge deliberately overlooks the fact that Elecam has restored access to its website, where it indicates the list has indeed been updated. However, the MRC insists on the physical and public nature of the publication required by law, criticizing what it perceives as a lack of transparency in the process at this stage.
Unfavorable Judicial Precedent
This is not the first time such a request has been made. In January 2025, the MRC previously petitioned the Constitutional Council to demand the publication of the electoral list, but was unsuccessful. The constitutional judges ruled they lacked jurisdiction and redirected the party to the administrative court. For his part, Elecam’s Director General, Erik Essousse, explained that publishing the entire list was technically impossible, as it would span several thousand pages.
Beyond the legal grounds, the MRC’s appeal is also part of a broader political strategy. The party has long sought reform of what the opposition views as a biased electoral system. By raising the issue of the voter list, it draws attention to a legal grey area, a space between the formal interpretation of the law and the operational reality of an electoral body frequently accused of lacking transparency.
It remains to be seen whether the Constitutional Council will agree to rule on the substance of the case or respond, as it did in January, with a dismissal based on limited jurisdiction.
Ludovic Amara