On 23 October 2018, Paul Biya was elected for his 7th consecutive term in office as President of Cameroon. At 85 years old, Biya stands as the longest ruling national leader, having accumulated 43 years at the head of the Cameroonian state, first as Prime Minister (1975-1982) and subsequently as President (1982-2018).
The last dinosaur
Biya’s contemporaries include the likes of Omar Al Bashir of Sudan, 25 years in power, Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, 29 years in power, and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, 32 years – a dying breed of one-party state leaders turned “democrat” with the advent of multi-party democracy. These three leaders have something in common, however, that distinguishes them from Paul Biya. Bashir, Afwerki, and Museveni came to power in the context of civil conflict, riding the wave of military victory to the ballot box.
The staying power of leaders emerging from civil conflict is well documented and can be understood given the security imperative. What is more difficult to understand is the tenacity of a leader like Paul Biya, who came to power “by accident” when Cameroon’s first post-independence leader, Ahmadou Ahidjo, resigned. In 1982, Paul Biya was propelled from his role as a politically appointed Prime Minister to head of state and has maintained the position for the better part of the last four decades.
His staying power in the face of disintegrating material – Cameroon’s gross domestic product per capita is lower today than its was when Biya came to power in 1982 – and security conditions in the country challenges the legitimacy of electoral processes and underscores the weaknesses of what analysts have called “procedural democracies”. In addition to his advanced age, Biya’s competency has been under scrutiny in recent years – including the curious fact that he spends a significant time outside of the country on personal business rather than attending to affairs of the state.
Repression of dissent recalls previous episodes in Cameroonian history
To understand the dynamics at play in Cameroon’s recent election, one needs to review the historical record and analyse the context in which Paul Biya’s leadership emerged. While Cameroon has never been engulfed in full blown out civil war, its independence was not void of bloodshed and rebellion. The Union des Populations Camerounaises (UPC) emerged as a vibrant political force in the lead up to independence that challenged the French colonial administration’s choice of leader, Ahmadou Ahidjo.
Then provincial governor, Ahmadou Ahidjo used the repressive apparatus of the state to quell the momentum of the UPC, outlawing the party and sending its members into hiding. Given the linguistic divisions within the country and bifurcated colonial rule, the UPC sought refuge in the Anglophone regions of the country where their presence was more easily hidden. The ensuing guerrilla warfare between UPC maquisards, colonial security forces, and local populations in the Anglophone region has left deep social divisions within the bordering communities.
Beginning under the colonial administration and perpetuated under both the Ahidjo and Biya regimes, the Cameroonian state has repeatedly deployed violence to quell dissent. Following a close call during the country’s first multiparty elections in 1992, during which Biya won a slim majority of 40 percent against the Social Democratic Front’s 36 percent, the Biya regime undertook systematic dismantling of constitutional provisions meant to enshrine political transition.
In 1997, Biya’s announced intention to extend the presidential term from five to seven years generated a wave of political activism by opposition leaders and civil society actors. The manifestations were repressed in what came to be known as the “villes mortes”or ghost towns. History repeated itself in February 2008 when social protests spread across Cameroon’s major cities in opposition to rising food and fuel costs and the proposed constitutional amendment removing presidential term limits.
Unlike the “hunger strikes” that shook West Africa countries like Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire during the same period, the political factor triggered the popular uprising in Cameroon. These demonstrations were met with renewed violence from police and security forces. Those critical of the government were arrested and convicted for their role in fomenting popular resistance.
Similarly, this month’s elections unfolded in a context of heightened insecurity and state repression. Two conflicts simmered in the background of the electoral contest. The first, in the Northern region of the country where Boko Haram has been active for several years and terrorism suspects and their communities have been severely repressed by government forces, including extra judicial killings and arbitrary detentions. The second is the crisis in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, which began as peaceful protests by Anglophone lawyers and teachers decrying the marginalisation of the region.
The severe repression of these protests by security forces, including the government imposed Internet black out, attracted global attention. What began as a peaceful mobilisation has since transformed into a rebellion with an estimated 1,000 armed separatists active in the region, which has occasioned the death of up to 175 security forces and rendered the regions ungovernable. Schools have been closed for over 12 months and an estimated 250,000 people have been internally displaced since 2016.
Ultimately, this context of insecurity may have boosted Biya’s electoral performance. The Anglophone insurgency, while led by a small minority of fringe groups has further marginalised the region, decreasing the vote share for traditional opposition candidates such as the Social Democratic Front. Meanwhile, the general context of civil unrest tends to reinforce support for the incumbent in the hopes that continuity will lead to a reestablishment of order. The systematic and violent repression of dissent has successfully undermined political participation and created a culture of fear that prevented many Cameroonians from openly expressing their political opinions or registering to vote.
Source: Pambazuka News
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.