YAOUNDÉ,
Cameroon
The Cameroonian government has described two political groups seeking to create opposition coalitions as illegal.
A statement from the
Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji on Tuesday named "The
Political Alliance for Change (APC) and the Alliance for Political Transition
in Cameroon (ATP) and described them as no political parties under the law.
The statement also expressed
concern over "pseudo-associations ahead of the 2025 presidential
election". The minister recalled that only legally recognized
political parties have the right to exercise political activities at the
national level and ordered the ban on any demonstration associated with these
associations.
Olivier Bile, spokesperson for
the APT, took note of the decision while noting confusion and exaggerations in
the minister's comments while the APC dismissed the statement calling it
"curious threat which indicates panic". The alliance said it was
"ready to face the elections victoriously" next year.
Led by former deputy Jean
Michel Nintcheu, the APC was set up in December at a congress of the leading
opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC), which backed Maurice
Kamto for president in the 2018 ballot.
Kamto came second and called
Biya's re-election a fraud. He was jailed without trial the following year,
after staging peaceful protests.
The movement boycotted
legislative elections in 2018 and over the next two years saw 700 of its
supporters imprisoned, including Kamto.
International NGOs accuse the
regime of President Paul Biya, who has ruled with for more than 41 years, of
systematically suppressing opposition.
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