By Boris Esono Nwenfor
Dr Christopher Fomunyoh, Senior Associate for Africa, Regional Director and Special Adviser to the President at the Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), has called on Cameroonians to seize the historic opportunity presented by the upcoming 2025 presidential election to drive meaningful democratic change through the ballot box.
Speaking in an interview with Cameroon media Equinox, from Washington D.C., Dr. Fomunyoh weighed in on a wide range of political developments in Cameroon, including the recent resignations of high-profile government figures, the awakening political consciousness of the northern electorate, and the urgent need for electoral reforms and opposition unity.
“These resignations are very significant. I consider them very important for at least three reasons,” Dr Fomunyoh said. “One is that these are cabinet ministers who have served for decades in the current government and who understand the failures of the government to meet the expectations of the Cameroonian people and who are also now willing to say so very publicly.
“Secondly, these two or three ministers do come from the northern part of the country, which is an important electorate which combined constitutes well over 30 per cent of the electorate of Cameroon. If that electorate that has previously always voted for the ruling party were now to be split, it would make it extremely difficult for the ruling party to have its way as it has done in the past.”
“Thirdly, I believe these resignations and the declarations from the ministers also coincide with a generalised criticism of the performance of the CPDM and the fact that Biya, in particular, has not been able to accomplish a lot. Now we have people saying that at the grassroots level, as we’ve seen from various populations up in the North and other parts of the country, and we now have former cabinet ministers willing to go on record in writing, as well as in their public declarations. So a combination of these three points makes me realise how significant these developments are.”
Growing Discontent
Dr Fomunyoh also addressed growing public discontent across the nation, referencing recent incidents in the central region, where villagers blocked CPDM militants from holding a meeting, citing the government’s failure to provide basic infrastructure like roads.
“There’s a generalised unease. Ultimately, we hope that gets translated through people turning out and expressing their voices,” Fomunyoh stressed.
“There are certain things that are so obvious that everyone can see and feel. Everyone can hear the desire for change across the entire country. There is nothing that can rationalise or justify someone who is 93 years old, who has been in power for 43 years, and who seeks another seven-year term. Even people within the ruling party know that that does not make sense in today’s Cameroon, in today’s Africa, and across the globe.”
In perhaps his most direct criticism yet, Dr. Fomunyoh lambasted the idea of President Paul Biya, aged 93, seeking another seven-year term after over four decades in power.
“It doesn’t make sense… that you’re going to entrust that responsibility in the hands of someone whom you couldn’t even hire to be your driver, or your cook, or your servant. Even people in government know, because the last time that there was a ministerial cabinet meeting in Cameroon was years ago. Some of these ministers have not had the opportunity to have a working session with their president. So people know that,” Fomunyoh said bluntly.
“I think it’s unbelievable that anyone who’s patriotic, that anyone who has the future of this country at heart, would want to entrust that future into the hands of a 93-year-old great-grandfather.”
Change through Ballot Box Not Violence
With Cameroon inching toward the 2025 polls, Dr Fomunyoh emphasised the importance of peaceful democratic processes and discouraged any form of violence. “As a committed democrat, if you believe in democracy, then you believe in peaceful processes that can lead to meaningful change and that you will never advocate for violence. The hope, I believe, is that the conditions be created such that citizens can express themselves freely through the ballot process,” Dr Fomunyoh said.
“Harassment of civil society organisations should stop so citizens can organise themselves to be able to monitor the campaign period and monitor their elections and conduct voter education, and bring people out to be able to participate in the electoral process. Security services should not allow themselves to be utilised for personal or partisan gain because their responsibility is to maintain law and order for everyone on an equitable basis.”
Reflecting on a recent visit to San Antonio, Texas, where he met with the Cameroonian diaspora, Fomunyoh praised the community’s efforts to depolarise, rebuild, and rebrand Cameroon’s image abroad.
“What I saw in San Antonio is a model for what a future Cameroon could look like once meaningful change comes about, once the environment and the timing are right for the diaspora to play an even greater role in reconciling, rebuilding and rebranding our country.”
With the election still months away, Dr. Fomunyoh called on all Cameroonians at home and abroad to rise to the occasion. “2025 provides a unique opportunity for all of those voices to be channelled into the political process so that your voices can be heard through the electoral process,” Dr Fomunyoh urged. “Let’s rebuild and reform the country and also rebrand Cameroon, not just across the African continent but on the global stage.”
