As Cameroon heads toward municipal and legislative elections in 2026, the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) is seeking to reassert itself on the political scene. In a letter sent to party members on January 30, 2025, UNDP president Bello Bouba Maïgari outlined a strategy centered on mobilization, internal reorganization, and electoral recovery.
In the message, Maïgari thanked activists and allies for their involvement in the October–November 2025 presidential and regional elections before setting out priorities for the coming year. These include strengthening grassroots structures, improving internal coordination, refining political strategy, and recruiting new members, with a stated focus on women and young people. The letter signals an effort to reposition a party that once held significant regional influence but now faces increased competition.
Founded in 1991 during Cameroon’s transition to multiparty politics, the UNDP quickly emerged as a dominant force in the northern regions. Under Maïgari, a former prime minister, the party built strongholds in Adamawa, the North, and the Far North during the 1990s and 2000s, controlling multiple municipalities and securing parliamentary representation, supported by local elites and a largely rural electorate.
For more than three decades, the UNDP maintained a strategic alliance with the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) of President Paul Biya, participating in successive governments. While this partnership helped preserve the party’s local presence, it gradually weakened its image as an opposition force and fueled internal criticism, particularly among younger members.
That alliance ended ahead of the October 2025 presidential election, when Maïgari announced his candidacy after breaking with the RDPC. He framed the decision as a response to pressure from party members calling for greater independence and accountability in governance.
Maïgari finished fourth in the October 12, 2025 presidential vote with 2.45% of ballots cast. Although the result fell short of a national breakthrough, it marked the UNDP’s return to autonomous competition. At the same time, the party lost control of the Adamawa Regional Council, which shifted to the RDPC, highlighting growing challenges even in traditional strongholds.
The UNDP currently holds five seats in the National Assembly. According to party figures, it also counts around 600 municipal councilors, controls 17 municipalities across four regions, and holds one city mayoralty. The 2026 municipal and legislative elections are therefore seen as a key test, both to defend existing positions and to expand representation at the local and national levels.
Maïgari has called on party members to rally around shared values and to approach the upcoming elections as an opportunity to strengthen the UNDP’s political footing.
Patricia Ngo Ngouem