Cameroon Elections 2025: Catholic Bishops Urge Authorities to Provide "electoral security” for October Polls

Douala, 01 April, 2025 / 9:50 PM

Cameroon’s Catholic Bishops have called on the “competent authorities” in the Central African nation to address any electoral insecurities that may mar the country’s presidential elections slated for October.

In a detailed pastoral letter, members of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) express their fear that numerous pockets of resistance from armed militias in the Far North, North-West and South-West regions of the country could jeopardize the climate of peace that they say is essential for elections to run smoothly.

In the letter issued on March 28, NECC members warn that without security, Cameroonians will not risk their lives by going out to vote.

“Every human life is sacred and must be protected. It is everyone's duty to ensure that the sanctity of human life is preserved before, during, and after the upcoming elections,” they say, and add, “We call on the competent authorities of the Republic to use their powers to prevent electoral insecurity and ensure a favourable environment, free from fear and intimidation.”

NECC members however clarify that it is the responsibility of all Cameroonians to work for peaceful elections. 

They call on the people of God in the country to put aside all “swords of hatred” as they prepare to vote later this year.

“We appeal to our compatriots, in this year when we go to the polls to fulfill our civic duty, that we may all work harder than ever to put aside 'our swords of hatred, anger, bitterness, quarrels, and murder, and reach out to each other in peace,” they say.

According to the NECC members, “the sword of hatred” in Cameroon today could also take the form of multiple registrations, multiple votes, as well as the presence of “thugs” who intimidate and steal ballot boxes.

Other swords of hatred to look out for, Cameroon’s Catholic Bishops say, are the people who use digital media to write and spread information capable of harming Cameroon’s social cohesion and peace. 

In their pastoral message, the Catholic Church leaders have outlined the roles that various groups of people in Cameroon are to play during the electioneering period. 

NECC members specifically highlighted the mission of their Commission for Justice and Peace, which they say is to accompany the electoral process.

“As in the past, the Catholic Church will accompany the electoral process through one of its institutions, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace. It will carry out its role of monitoring the electoral process through education, Christian observation of the elections and the peaceful prevention of election-related violence,” they say.

They invite all Catholics, through the National Service for Justice and Peace and the various Diocesan commissions for Justice and Peace, to: carry out activities or civic political workshops to promote civic participation, awareness and the election of competent, honest and responsible candidates.

Catholics in Cameroon are also urged to work with youths in Parishes who, according to NECC members, “are the present and future of society and the Church, and who therefore need pastoral attention.”

They go on to invite Christians in the country to carry out Diocesan and Parish awareness-raising, education and prayer activities.

The Catholic Bishops explain other themes, including the Church’s involvement in politics.

According to the Bishops, elections represent significant moments that engage the attention of all citizens, while at the same time it is an occasion for the people to assert their sovereignty through the free and deliberate choice of their leaders. 

They say that the presidential election, in particular, takes on an important stake that deserves to be approached in an informed and conscientious manner when voting. 

They note that under such circumstances, which the Bishops say “are extremely important” and decisive, “we, the Bishops of Cameroon, strengthened by our faith in Jesus Christ and faithful to our duty as Pastors, and above all, faithful to our mission to teach, have always made our voices heard so as to accompany the People in the electoral process.”

“It is, in fact, the duty of the Catholic Church to be engaged in this process to guarantee a transparent, free, fair and impartial election. It is about building trust and encouraging voters to turn out in large numbers,” they say.

NECC members also call upon the lay faithful in Cameroon to carry out their normal civic duties, noting that there is no reason why Christians should fail to take an interest in politics. 

Elections, they say, is a wake-up call to Christians and other believers to not only denounce the problems that Cameroonians are facing, but to commit themselves with others to analyzing situations, discerning what is at stake, and proposing concrete courses of action. 

In the Pastoral Letter, the Catholic Bishops outline other topics to educate the electorate, including who is required to vote, as well as how and who to vote for.

NECC members invite Cameroonians to vote for honest and responsible leaders, saying, “The choice of a candidate, his moral, intellectual, human, spiritual and managerial qualities, should therefore be made after careful discernment, in all conscience.”

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In Cameroon’s October elections, Paul Biya who has been president since 1982 is expected to stand for election for an eighth presidential term in the Central African nation, where Presidents have a seven-year mandate.

Constitutional amendments that President Biya’s party, Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), spearheaded in 2008, abolishing the two-term presidential limit, occasioned his “extraordinarily long tenure”. 

President Biya is Africa’s second longest serving Head of State after President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.