Three Days Before the Vote: Opposition Unity and the Coalition Question
With the 2018 presidential election imminent, Poise examines whether Cameroon's fragmented opposition can coalesce around a single candidate—and if so, who should lead. The analysis argues that Akere Muna, whose Now Movement was itself born from a multi-party coalition, possesses both the institutional background and the prior advocacy for unity that could make him the natural choice.
In the past three days, we have looked at the governance programs of three of the four leading opposition candidates. What we have observed is that despite the qualities of the candidates and their perceived competence, many believe defeating Paul Biya can only be done by means of a coalition amongst the opposition candidates. Where we are finding it hard to agree is on who should then lead the coalition.
The problems that we expect the new president to fix are widespread. It is however arguable that most of the problems find their root cause at the institutional level and so far, Akere is the one with the professional background that shows he is clearly capable of handling issues at the administrative and institutional level. However, that is only part of the reason why I believe he is the guy to lead the coalition.
Akere actually talked about the possibility of a coalition before all of us carried it on our heads. Four months ago, in an interview with RFI, he said “I think coalitions and alliances are sometime down the road and I think they’ll happen.” That was in response to the question “Do you have the support of the Social Democratic Front, one of the country’s main opposition parties?”
What many of us fail to remember is the fact that Akere’s candidacy is actually based on a coalition of about eight other political parties and civil society organizations that came together to form the Platform for a New Republic which then endorsed Akere’s Now Movement - thereby having Akere as their candidate. The agreement was signed on the 15th of January, 2018.
The founding members of the New Republic Platform include:-
- USDP(United Socialist Democratic Party) - AFP(Alliance of Progressive Forces) - PNPC(National Part of Cameroon Patriots) - FDP(Popular Front for Development) - The Mayor of Yabassi (Mr. Jacques Maboula Mboya) - National Union of Mining and Quarry Exploiters of Cameroon (SYNEMICAM) - YES! Cameroon
On Saturday, 25th August 2018, the National President of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon, UPC party, Habiba Issa also gave her party’s support to Akere Muna after her candidature file to run for the 7th October election was rejected by the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM. Let us recall some of the founding father of the UPC who played essential roles in the fight for Cameroon’s independence; Um Nyobe, Osende Afana, Félix Moumé, and Ernest Ouandié.
We can see that Akere is actually the author of what we are all echoing to be the idea of the people. Maurice Kamto during his rally at the parking of the Onmisport Stadium in Yaounde called out to the opposition for a coalition to be formed. He begged for even if only one other candidate can join him. When asked what he thought of Kamto’s arm extension, Cabral stated that he will only form a coalition if all the other 8 candidates were on board, without which he would rather go at it alone.
So typically how would they go about deciding who will lead the coalition, that is if all candidates were to come together to try and form one?
CABRAL Libii has an answer. In a TV interview on Canal 2 in July this year he said all candidates should sit on a round table, each takes a piece of paper and write the name of a candidate other then themselves who they think should head a coalition.
That a coalition has not formed up to this point is somewhat a tie edged sword. It can be a good thing in that, BIya has not been able to strategize against it. The bad is in the fact that all candidates have been campaigning alone so should a coalition form, how do they then communicate to all their supporters in such a short time.
There are still some that think no matter what, the system is setup for Biya to win and here is what Akere Muna had to say about that:- “I’m a lawyer by profession, I know what the laws are. I know that the way that they’re made, they’re made to suit the incumbent. But that’s a given and to try and think that you can change the law that you’re now at elections – it’s a distraction. But I think there’s no fraudulent machine that can be above the will of the people. I’m telling you, I’ve travelled up and down the country and the will and desire for change is very high. They can try to fraud all they want, but I don’t think that that can be above the will of the people.”
- Tino Foy
In October 2018, Cameroon faced a presidential election in which incumbent Paul Biya remained the presumed frontrunner despite mounting calls for opposition consolidation. Multiple candidates—each with their own base and vision—had campaigned separately, but the recognition that division might ensure continuity under the incumbent prompted urgent conversations about whether opposition unity was still possible with only days remaining.
The piece captures a precise moment of democratic deliberation and strategic calculation in a context where institutional design itself favors the sitting president. It remains instructive for its clear-eyed view of coalition-building as both opportunity and logistical puzzle, and for documenting voices—particularly Akere Muna's—that placed faith in popular will as a counterweight to structural advantage. The tension between idealism and practical constraint is as relevant to ongoing debates about opposition strategy in consolidated dominant-party systems.