Interim leaders of the Union pour le changement 2025 coalition said on February 2 that the platform plans to field “consensual, cross-party lists in every constituency to confront the RDPC and concentrate the votes of the people seeking change.”
In a statement signed by Tabue Kaptue for the MDI and Bedimo Kouo for the Manidem, the coalition said it intends to rally its member parties ahead of Cameroon’s legislative and municipal elections scheduled for 2026. The stated objective is to block the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Rally (RDPC) and weaken its grip on national and local institutions.
The coalition framed its initiative within what it described as a tightly controlled institutional environment. It recalled that the RDPC secured nearly all seats in the National Assembly and most municipal executives during the last local elections. With an overwhelming parliamentary majority and the support of allied parties, the ruling camp, according to the coalition, sidelines dissent in the legislature and easily blocks reform efforts.
Union pour le changement 2025 set out a clear political target: securing a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to launch what it calls a “program of transition and refoundation.” The platform traces its origins to an initiative launched by the late Anicet Ekane, former leader of Manidem, who died in detention in December, and by Djeukam Tchameni, president of the MDI, who remains in detention.
According to the statement, both figures were jailed following the October 12 presidential election after backing Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who was declared runner-up by the Constitutional Council but continues to claim victory. The coalition said it “reaffirms its support for the legitimate president emerging from the ballot box, H.E. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, and continues the struggle to recover the stolen victory.”
The platform also acknowledged divisions within the opposition camp. It said it understands and respects “the principled position of the FSNC regarding the 2026 local elections.” From exile in The Gambia, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has instructed his party, the FSNC, not to take part in the upcoming municipal and legislative polls.
Ludovic Amara