At 92, Paul Biya is seeking an eighth presidential term in Cameroon, but the veteran leader faces an unprecedented crisis within his own Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM).
or the first time since the party’s creation, a member has openly defied the patriarch.
Léon Theiller Onana’s decision to challenge Biya has shattered a decades-old culture of unquestioned loyalty, exposing deep divisions at the heart of the ruling party.
The health of Africa’s oldest head of state is adding to the turmoil. Once viewed as untouchable, Biya’s frailty has sparked uncertainty even within his inner circle, threatening to unravel a political system that has stood unshaken since 1982.
“This rift is unprecedented in the history of the CPDM,” said Mathieu Olivier, deputy editor-in-chief of Jeune Afrique. “Léon Theiller Onana’s dissident candidacy breaks a decades-old taboo within the ruling party.”
The rebellion is now spreading through the ranks. “Some are even going so far as to contest the candidacy,” Olivier revealed, noting that such dissent would have been unimaginable in a party where loyalty to the “patriarch” was once sacrosanct.
Questions over Biya’s age and ability to lead have become unavoidable. “Does Paul Biya govern directly? Can he campaign?” Olivier asked. Once considered unthinkable, these questions now echo openly across the CPDM.
Previously, Biya’s long absences were seen as calculated political manoeuvres, his dramatic reappearances silencing critics. But now, according to Olivier, “we feel that he is perhaps incapable of doing that.”
The CPDM, long synonymous with rigid discipline and blind faith in Biya, now mirrors the broader uncertainty gripping Cameroonian society. The cracks suggest a regime approaching a breaking point.
As the party faces its first true existential crisis, the coming weeks may determine not only the future of the CPDM but the survival of Paul Biya’s four-decade-old political order.
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