Cameroon's Bakary launches challenge to Biya in political shake-up

A long-time ally of Cameroon's leader has quit the government to run for president in October elections — a defection that could reshape the West African nation's politics after more than four decades of Paul Biya's rule.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who served as spokesperson for Biya's government from 2009 to 2018, said last week he had resigned as employment minister in response to what he said were widespread calls for change.

"As a political leader, I felt called upon to respond to this solicitation from our compatriots from north to south, from east to west," Tchiroma said in an interview with a social media influencer Ben Oumar on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday.

Cameroon's communication ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Biya, the world's oldest serving head of state at 92, has not confirmed whether he plans to stand again in the vote. There has been widespread speculation in Cameroon about a possible succession battle in the ruling coalition.

Tchiroma's challenge could shake the ruling party’s confidence ahead of what many anticipate will be a historic election — possibly the first without Biya since 1982. Cameroon has had just two presidents since independence from France and Britain in the early 1960s.

It would also mark a major political realignment in the northern regions — Tchiroma's home base — which has traditionally delivered strong support for Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM).

Tchiroma is the leader of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, a CPDM-allied party, and has previously also served as transport and communication minister.

He announced his plans in an open letter on Wednesday, in which he said that Biya's administration had stifled progress and paralysed institutions.

Tchiroma said on Thursday his goals include a referendum on federalism, which would grant more power to provinces. He also vowed to prioritise youth employment, education and agricultural modernisation.

Tchiroma could still face an uphill battle in a political system where incumbency, patronage and party machinery wield enormous influence.

But he is now arguably the most influential northern opposition figure, and his defection signals a potential realignment of elites, Munjah Vitalis Fagha, a political scientist at the University of Buea, told Reuters.

Tchiroma’s candidacy may open the door for other northern figures like Bello Bouba Maigari of the National Union for Democracy and Progress to declare bids, Fagha and other analysts said.