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President Paul Biya of Cameroon is running for a new term
On Sunday, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya announced his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections on October 12 this year via his official X account. The 92-year-old has been in office since 1982 and his announcement ends months of speculation about his political future. He is considered the oldest sitting head of state in the world.
Biya’s decision to run for an eighth term in office comes just a few weeks after initial splits in the government camp. At the end of June, two cabinet members and long-time associates of Biya declared their own candidacies. Issa Tchiroma Bakary (76), until then Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, resigned on 24 June and announced that he would run for the Front pour le Salut National du Cameroun (FSNC) – previously a coalition partner of the ruling party Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC). He accused the government of being ‘on its last legs’ and neglecting the interests of Cameroon’s youth. Just a few days later, Bello Bouba Maïgari (78), former prime minister and current tourism minister, was nominated by the Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progrès (UNDP) – the RDPC’s second partner – but remained in office for the time being.
Both politicians come from the politically influential North of the country, a long-time pillar of Biya’s power. Their candidacies were criticised in part, as both had long supported the political system under Biya. Nevertheless, observers see this as an indication of a change that could break up the centralised power of the RDPC in the long term.
Biya’s renewed candidacy is a response to tensions in his camp and follows months of loud demands from his circle of supporters. The announcement came as no surprise to many – despite ongoing speculation about the health of the 92-year-old, who rarely appears in public and delegates many official duties to his chief of staff. Analysts warn of an unstable succession should health problems worsen, as there are no clear constitutional regulations. Biya’s candidacy has also been criticised by the opposition and civil society, who are calling for political change in the country.
In addition to Biya, Bakary and Maïgari, a broad field of opposition candidates are running. Prominent candidates include Maurice Kamto, who came second in the last election in 2018 with around 14% of the vote and was imprisoned for several months in 2019 for protesting against the election results. As leader of the Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) party, he is calling for more independence from France and a removal of the CFA franc (FCFA). He cites the Alliance of Sahel States as a role model. Other opposition candidates include Joshua Osih from the Anglophone Social Democratic Front and Cabral Libii from the Parti camerounais pour la réconciliation nationale (PCRN).
In Cameroon, the president is directly elected every seven years. Biya is only the second president since independence in 1960. In 2008, he had the term limits lifted by parliament and has been able to run for office indefinitely since then. The upcoming election will take place in a tense political environment. In the north, there are still attacks by the Islamist Boko Haram, while in the west, violent clashes between government troops and separatist groups in the Anglophone regions continue. Around one million people are already on the run; the Norwegian Refugee Council speaks of the world’s most neglected displacement crisis. Cameroon is also under economic pressure. Among other things, fluctuating commodity prices and infrastructural deficits are a burden on economic development.
Kenya abolishes ETA requirement for African countries
Since Monday, nationals of all African and most Caribbean countries have been allowed to enter Kenya without registering via the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system. This also means that these countries no longer have to pay the 30 US dollar ETA fee. However, Libya and Somalia are exempt from the regulation, which the Kenyan government justifies with security concerns. Somalia is therefore the only member of the East African Community (EAC) that does not benefit from the free movement regulation – a move that has been criticised in Mogadishu. The basis for the new entry regulations is a cabinet decision from January 2025 with the aim of strengthening Kenya’s tourism sector and promoting economic links within Africa.
The decision allows nationals from 28 African countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Benin, Djibouti, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sudan, Togo, Chad, Tunisia and the Central African Republic, to stay in Kenya for up to two months without a visa or ETA. Citizens from further 17 African countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, the Republic of Congo and South Africa may stay in Kenya for up to 90 days without a visa. For nationals of EAC member states Burundi, DR kongo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda the visa-free stay of up to six months continues to apply in accordance with the bloc’s freedom of movement rules.
Other measures that were announced in January and are to be implemented in the near future include improving the processing time of electronic travel authorisations. The aim is to reduce the processing time for ETAs to 72 hours. The introduction of the Advanced Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems should also enable better recording, verification and security of incoming passengers as well as more efficient passenger processing at border crossings.
Kenya’s government is thus continuing the visa relaxations and of recent months: Back in January 2024, the Kenyan government abolished the visa requirement for travellers of all nationalities and replaced it with an ETA. In October last year, President Ruto’s government then introduced a 12-hour transit regulation that allows tourists to leave the airport terminal during a transit stay and explore the country. The digital nomad visa was also introduced, which allows people to live and work remotely in Kenya.
Kenya’s move towards visa and ETA-free travel for African countries is in line with the efforts of other African countries to facilitate mobility on the continent. Since January this year, Benin, Ghana, Rwanda, and Seychelles have also allowed visa-free entry for nationals of other African countries and are seen as pioneers of regional integration. These developments are in the context of larger integration projects such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single market with free movement of goods and people. Back in 2018, the African Union adopted a protocol on the free movement of persons, which is intended to enable visa-free travel, residence and work. However, this has so far only been ratified by a few member states, with Kenya being one of the most committed countries.
Breaking news
Death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari
Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82. Buhari was last at the helm of Africa’s most populous country from 2015 to 2023. The funeral took place in Buhari’s hometown of Daura on Wednesday and was attended by thousands of Nigerians. The Nigerian government declared Tuesday a bank holiday and ordered seven days of national mourning in his honour. Buhari initially ruled the country as a military ruler in the 1980s before being democratically elected to office decades later. During his presidency, he pursued a strict anti-corruption policy and promised to improve the security situation in the country – particularly in the fight against Boko Haram.
In other news
Last Friday, the South African metropolis of Cape Town was once again voted the world’s favourite city by the British daily newspaper The Telegraph. For the seventh time, Cape Town took the top spot as the world’s favourite travel destination in the Telegraph Travel Awards. More than 20,000 travellers took part in the vote and voted the South African port city the most popular city in the world, ahead of Seville (second place) and Sydney (third place). Cape Town scored points with readers not only for its world-famous sights such as the Table Mountain and the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, but also for its varied leisure activities and attractive surroundings. For example, visitors can observe penguin colonies or enjoy wine tastings in the nearby Cape Winelands within a radius of 40-50 kilometres. Cape Town also impressed the international magazine Time Out at the beginning of the year in its survey of travellers and tourism experts, where it also took first place in the global city ranking. The Telegraph Travel Awards have been presented annually since 1998 – with the exception of 2020 and 2021, when they were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Awards are now presented in 20 categories, from the most popular cities and countries to airlines, hotels and tour operators.