In the annals of global politics, elections are typically defined by the intensity of campaigns speeches, rallies, debates, and manifestos. Candidates court the public, broadcasting their visions for the future in a bid to secure the people’s mandate. Yet, in Cameroon, President Paul Biya appears set to defy this fundamental principle of democracy. At 92 years old, the world’s oldest elected head of state is poised to make history as the first presidential candidate to run for re-election, and possibly win without campaigning, or even personally announcing his candidacy.
This peculiar phenomenon underscores not only the extraordinary nature of Biya’s decades-long iron-fist rule but also the fragility of Cameroon’s democratic institutions. It raises profound questions about the very meaning of elections in a system where political ritual has long replaced genuine contestation.
The President Who Rarely Speaks
Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, has become synonymous with silence. Over the past four decades, he has maintained a political style characterized by invisibility, aloofness, and strategic absence. He has not held a single ministerial meeting for the last 6 years. Unlike other African strongmen who thrive on fiery speeches and visible control, Biya governs largely from behind closed doors, communicating through carefully crafted statements, surrogates, or occasionally televised appearances.
As the country approaches another presidential election, Biya has not officially declared his candidacy. Yet the machinery of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) is already treating his return as inevitable. Party loyalists, ministers, and regional barons openly describe him as the “natural candidate.” Billboards and slogans across the country trumpet his leadership, despite his silence. In essence, Biya’s candidacy is being proclaimed by others, not by himself.
The Mechanics of an “Invisible Campaign”
In most democracies, the idea of a candidate not campaigning would be political suicide. But in Cameroon, Biya has successfully institutionalized absence as a governing tactic. His party structures, state institutions, and an elaborate patronage system serve as his de facto campaign apparatus.
The CPDM, the dominant political force in the country, functions as both cheerleader and enforcer. Regional party heads mobilize support at the grassroots, often framing loyalty to Biya as synonymous with patriotism. State media devotes significant airtime to highlighting his achievements while silencing dissent. Opposition voices, fragmented and frequently harassed, struggle to gain traction.
In practice, Cameroon’s election season unfolds without debate about alternative visions for the country. Instead, it revolves around one question: Will Biya run again? And if he does, the outcome seems predetermined.
Why This Matters Globally
As Biya officially “entered” the race, despite continuous calls for his disqualification, he would be on the verge of achieving something no other leader has done: securing a presidential mandate without lifting a finger to campaign or even personally affirming his intentions.
Globally, there have been examples of “silent campaigns,” where incumbents relied heavily on surrogates or avoided public engagements. Yet even in those cases, candidates eventually addressed the nation, submitted manifestos, or appeared at key events. Biya, by contrast, may well become the first to win by omission.
This is not just a Cameroonian curiosity, it’s a precedent with implications for electoral norms worldwide. If a leader can secure re-election without even acknowledging candidacy, it undermines the idea that elections are a dialogue between the ruler and the ruled.
The Paradox of Power and Fragility
Biya’s ability to maintain power in this way reflects both his personal mastery of survival politics and the weaknesses of Cameroon’s opposition. Over the decades, opposition parties have repeatedly tried and failed, to form a united front. Divisions over ideology, leadership, and ethnic loyalties have prevented a coherent challenge to the CPDM. This is repeating itself again, as some of the 12 confirmed candidates have met on multiple occasions, but failed to reach a consensus or agree on a unique candidate. Some think all hope is not lost yet, as there rumored talks going on between the principal candidates including the two former ministers Issa Tchiroma of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FNSC), Bello Bouba Maigari of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), and even the rejected but influential candidate Maurice Kamto. An Alliance between these three candidates could certainly pose a real problem to the Paul Biya regime and his CPDM, and party that is struggling with internal cracks like never before.
Biya, who has mastered the art of co-optation and selective repression, is relying on his surrogates to put on the show on his behalf. Political elites know that their fortunes are tied to his rule, ensuring loyalty. Critics often face intimidation, legal harassment, or worse. In such an environment, even the faintest signal of Biya’s candidacy as now confirmed, seem enough to paralyze rivals and consolidate his dominance, mute critiques and somehow demobilizes public agitations.
Yet this system is not without fragility. The president’s advanced age and declining visibility have created uncertainty within his own camp. Succession debates simmer quietly, with younger figures within the CPDM positioning themselves for a post-Biya era. But for now, the inertia of the system keeps him at the helm.
Democracy on Autopilot
Cameroon’s upcoming election risks becoming less an exercise in democracy and more a ritualized confirmation of the status quo. Citizens may cast ballots, but the absence of genuine choice diminishes the process. In rural areas, where state structures dominate, the idea of challenging Biya is often seen as unthinkable. Urban youth, many disillusioned with politics, increasingly withdraw from participation altogether.
The international community, too, has grown accustomed to Biya’s peculiar brand of governance. Western allies, focused on regional stability and counterterrorism cooperation, often sidestep deeper questions about Cameroon’s democratic health. As long as Biya maintains relative stability, his unconventional path to re-election may be tolerated.
The Unwritten Legacy
If Biya proceeds and secures another mandate without campaigning, it will cement his place in history not just as one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, but as a pioneer of a new kind of politics, rule by silence. His reign would symbolize how institutions can be bent to sustain power even in the absence of basic democratic practices.
For Cameroonians, however, this history carries a heavy cost. The country remains mired in socio-economic challenges: unemployment, poverty, underdevelopment, and simmering conflict in the Anglophone regions. These pressing issues rarely feature in electoral discourse, overshadowed by the question of Biya himself.
In the end, the spectacle of a candidate running without campaigning reveals the paradox of Cameroonian politics: a nation yearning for renewal, yet trapped in a cycle of silence and continuity. Whether this will hold in the long run is uncertain. But for now, Paul Biya stands at the threshold of an unprecedented political milestone, one that redefines the very nature of candidacy itself.
