Elections Cameroon (Elecam) has stepped up efforts to register underrepresented groups ahead of the close of the country's annual voter registration update on August 31. In a campaign message released on July 15 under the slogan "Every Community Has a Place in Democratic Life," the electoral body is now focusing on indigenous communities.
The initiative builds on a nationwide campaign launched in April that also targets young people, women, people with disabilities and minority groups. Elecam aims to expand the voter roll ahead of the next legislative and municipal elections, whose dates have yet to be announced. The annual voter registration update, which opened in January, ends on August 31.
The campaign visual released by Elecam shows election officials registering members of an indigenous community. It reflects the institution's effort to bring voter registration services closer to people who often live far from municipal offices or have limited access to administrative procedures.
Indigenous peoples in Cameroon include the Baka, Bagyeli, Bakola and Bedzang forest communities, as well as Mbororo pastoralists, based on the terminology used by the International Labour Organization. These groups are mainly found in the East, South, Center, Adamawa, Northwest and Far North regions.
Many still face barriers to voter registration, including long distances to registration centers, the mobility of some communities, limited access to birth certificates and national identity cards, weak transport infrastructure and a lack of familiarity with electoral procedures.
As a result, awareness campaigns alone are unlikely to have a significant impact unless they are backed by mobile registration teams, support for obtaining civil registration documents and national ID cards, and cooperation with traditional leaders and community organizations.
On paper, Elecam has a broad local presence, with 10 regional offices, 58 divisional branches and 360 municipal offices responsible for voter registration, electoral roll management and voter card distribution.
The challenge now is whether that network can effectively reach the country's most isolated communities. In its July 15 statement, Elecam did not specify how many communities the campaign targets, which areas it covers or how many new registrations it expects.
At the end of 2024, Cameroon had 7.84 million registered voters, including 7.81 million in the country and 26,800 abroad. While Elecam publishes voter statistics by gender, age and disability status, it does not provide data on indigenous communities.
The lack of disaggregated data makes it difficult to measure their level of representation or assess the impact of inclusion efforts. It also prevents authorities from determining how many people from these communities hold voter cards, participate in elections or serve in elected office.
Beyond voter registration, broader participation could help bring greater attention to issues such as access to civil registration, education, healthcare, land rights and the preservation of traditional ways of life.
The campaign comes as Cameroon continues to adjust its electoral calendar. After the presidential election held on October 12, 2025, and the regional council elections on November 30, legislative and municipal elections are still pending. Elecam said the 2025 regional vote involved 9,676 municipal councilors and 15,580 traditional chiefs who elected 900 regional councilors.
Lawmakers' terms have been extended until December 20, 2026, while municipal councilors elected on February 9, 2020, will remain in office until February 28, 2027, unless municipal elections are held earlier.
The extensions give Elecam additional time to expand and improve the voter roll. However, the effectiveness of its inclusion strategy will ultimately depend on measurable outcomes, including the number of mobile registration operations, administrative documents issued, new voters registered and voter cards distributed.
Patricia Ngo Ngouem