As Cameroon prepares for its presidential election projected for October 12, the political landscape is growing increasingly tense, with the Constitutional Council reviewing 35 appeals from candidates disqualified by the electoral body, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM).
On Monday, August 4, the nation’s highest court became a center of political and legal confrontation, as attorneys and representatives of rejected hopefuls clashed in a city tightly controlled by gendarmerie forces.
Among the first major cases to be heard was that of Léon Theiller Onana, a member of the ruling CPDM party, who launched a daring appeal against none other than Paul Biya, the long serving incumbent president and CPDM’s endorsed flagbearer.
Theiller Onana challenged Biya’s eligibility, claiming that the CPDM bodies responsible for nominating him were no longer legitimately constituted, stating that it was not meant to be, thereby calling into question both his candidacy and political authority.
