Tensions are running high across Cameroon as the nation awaits the official results of its contentious presidential election, held on October 12, 2025. The days leading up to the announcement have been marked by mass protests, internet disruptions, and the dramatic arrests of key opposition figures, raising fears of a broader clampdown and questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
On Friday, October 24, 2025, two prominent opposition leaders—Anicet Ekane and Djeukam Tchameni—were arrested in Douala, Cameroon’s bustling economic capital. According to multiple reports, including the Associated Press and AFP, both men were detained at their homes by hooded, armed members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), an elite military unit. Their parties, the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM) and the Movement for Democracy and Interdependence (MDI), confirmed the arrests and stated that the men were taken to an unknown location.
Ekane and Tchameni are central figures in the Union for Change 2025, a coalition of opposition parties that had thrown its support behind presidential hopeful Issa Tchiroma Bakary. Tchiroma, a former employment minister, has emerged as a formidable challenger to President Paul Biya, who, at 92 years old, is the world’s oldest serving head of state and has ruled Cameroon since 1982. The coalition’s endorsement of Tchiroma injected new energy into the campaign, drawing large crowds and a surge of enthusiasm among voters eager for change after more than four decades under Biya’s rule.
The arrests came just days before the Constitutional Council’s scheduled announcement of the official election results on Monday, October 27. The timing has fueled speculation and concern among opposition supporters, many of whom view the detentions as a calculated attempt to intimidate those demanding a fair and transparent vote count. MANIDEM described the detentions as “an effort to intimidate Cameroonians,” while the Union for Change coalition denounced what it called “abusive arrests, whose clear aim is to intimidate (Cameroonians) who are waiting for the election results to be respected,” as reported by CameroonOnline.ORG.
Meanwhile, the government and ruling party have pushed back forcefully against the opposition’s claims. President Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) dismissed Tchiroma’s self-declared victory as “a grotesque hoax” and “an unacceptable fraud in a state of law.” In a statement, the party insisted it was “calmly awaiting the official results.” The government has also cracked down on public dissent, banning gatherings and restricting the movement of motorcycle taxis in several cities, including the capital, Yaoundé, as of Wednesday, October 22, according to AFP and NetBlocks.
Despite these bans, protests have continued to erupt across the country. In Bafoussam, the capital of the West Region, motorcyclists blocked major roads on Saturday, October 25, demanding a fair and transparent vote count. The unrest has not been without consequences. Earlier in the week, clashes between protesters and security forces led to multiple arrests and the tragic death of a 30-year-old primary school teacher, Zairatou Hassana, in the northern city of Garoua. According to her uncle, Amadou Adji, Hassana was not participating in the demonstrations but was searching for her sister who had not returned from school. “Her death leaves me with a terrible memory of this regime, like all other Cameroonians,” Adji told the Associated Press.
The sense of crisis has been compounded by widespread disruptions to internet access, which NetBlocks, a cybersecurity monitoring organization, warned could “limit coverage of events on the ground amid calls to annul the presidential election results.” The blackout has fueled suspicions among opposition supporters that authorities are seeking to control the narrative and suppress evidence of electoral misconduct.
Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the man at the center of the storm, has been unwavering in his assertion that he won the election. On Wednesday, October 22, Tchiroma claimed to have secured 54.8% of the vote, compared to just 31.3% for President Biya. He has called on Cameroonians to protest in the streets if the Constitutional Council announces what he described as “falsified and distorted results.” In a Facebook post on Friday, Tchiroma alleged that security forces were preparing to detain him, describing such an action as “an assault against the entire Cameroonian people.” He urged the authorities to “recognize the people’s victory.”
The ruling party, for its part, has accused Tchiroma and his supporters of seeking to destabilize the country. In a climate rife with rumors and accusations, the MDI party has also condemned what it called “gross manipulation” and “political intimidation” by the regime, particularly the circulation of “false information… suggesting that weapons or fake electoral records had been found at Tchameni’s home.” MANIDEM echoed these concerns, warning that such tactics were intended to sow fear and discourage citizens from demanding that their votes be respected.
The stakes could hardly be higher. For many Cameroonians, the 2025 election represents a rare opportunity to break with the past and chart a new course after decades of one-party dominance. Yet, as the nation heads into a weekend of uncertainty, with the official results still pending, the risk of further unrest looms large. The opposition’s call for peaceful protest has been met with heavy-handed responses from security forces, raising the specter of more violence in the days ahead.
Observers both inside and outside Cameroon are watching closely. The international community has yet to issue a formal response, but human rights groups have expressed alarm at the recent wave of arrests and the government’s apparent willingness to use force to suppress dissent. Internet access, a crucial tool for journalists and activists, remains unreliable, further complicating efforts to document events as they unfold.
With the official results set to be announced on Monday, all eyes are on Cameroon’s Constitutional Council. Will the outcome reflect the will of the people, as the opposition insists, or will it reinforce the status quo under President Biya? For now, uncertainty prevails, and the fate of the nation hangs in the balance as its citizens wait anxiously for clarity—and perhaps, a new chapter in their history.
